Heart of the Beast
by rebel angel365
Summary: Paul’s temper only seems to get worse as the days go by. Can something, rather, someone, get to his heart? Please RxR!
1. Chapter 1

**_Heart of the Beast_**

**Okay, I'm having serious writer's block on my **_**A Great and Terrible Beauty**_** fanfic so I'm going to try out this one for a while…**

**Paul's temper only seems to get worse as the days go by. Can something, rather, someone, get to his heart?**

**I don't own anything!**

"Wow, we're here already!" My father pulls into the driveway and hops out of the car.

_Already? We've been driving for hours…_I look at the dilapidated house that is now my home. My father and I lived in Washington, D.C. since I was born with my mother, who was a Senator. My father was a chef, working in a small pub in the District. He could make the best Boxty in the world.

Yes, we are Irish. Well, my dad is at least. He lived in Ireland until he was twelve. And boy is he proud of it. Everything served in that restaurant was Irish. For the most part, people enjoyed the food, the Celtic music constantly playing, and the beer of course. It didn't make a lot of money, but my mom did. Enough money to put us in a very nice apartment building right in the middle of the District and to put me in a prestigious private school. It was a nice life, in its own way. At least we were happy. Or, I thought we were.

About a year and a half ago the changes began. It started off small; my mom started working on a huge bill that "requires all of my attention now," as she put it. She would stay out later and later, sometimes not coming home at all. Then the business trips started. Off to visit colleagues and possible endorsers of her new bill. Oftentimes she would be gone for weeks at a time, and the sad part was that I began to stop noticing when she was gone.

My father and I got closer. I worked evenings at the pub. It was great. I loved all the people that worked there. I guess you could say we formed our own family at the pub. Once my mother found out that I worked there, she flipped. "I will not have my daughter working at that…disgusting _brothel_ of yours!" Those were her exact words, which was ridiculous since it wasn't anything near a brothel. She quickly signed me up for singing lessons, hoping for me to find a talent that would keep me form the pub. It worked. I'm lucky to be gifted with singing. And I absolutely love it. I can't begin to describe the utter freedom singing brings me…freedom of my mother's desperate attempts to keep me away from the pub and closer to the high-class of my private school.

Her plan of keeping me high-class worked too. I met my boyfriend in debate class one day. Daren was a transfer from Bethesda, Maryland. He was a senior and _hot_, tall and lean with that "emo look" of hair that all the guys wanted but few could perfect. He was a poet, and often wrote songs he made me promise to sing once I became famous. I had never planned to become a professional singer, but I promised anyway.

I soon realized that I had forgotten about my friends at the pub. So I worked as often as I could there, squeezing it in between singing and Daren and my friends. In my mind, life was perfect. Then it happened:

It was a Saturday night. Mom was away on business, and Dad was still at the pub. My friends Bridget and Regan were over and decided that they wanted to go to H2O, a nightclub not too far away. It didn't take long for them to persuade me to go too, and before I knew it the bouncer was letting us in. It was amazing in its chaos. Bodies everywhere swaying to the techno music thumping from the speakers. Soon, I was high on the energy of the place, dancing and rubbing against people I didn't even know. Then out of nowhere a drunk woman stumbled to the floor, taking me with her.

"Watch it!" she grumbled, and a young man of about twenty helped her up kissing her neck. It was only as she tilted her neck to allow the man more room for his lips that I saw who it was: my mother.

The rest of that night was a blur. I remember running from the club, my sobs forcing me to hyperventilation as I ran home. I'm sure people thought I was crazy I stumbled home. As I lay in bed that night, I wondered what to do. Should I tell my dad? It would break his heart. Of course, now that I knew, it seemed so pathetically obvious. The late nights, the "business trips," like the one she was supposedly on now…it was all a lie.

It turns out I never even had to tell my father. The next day as we were eating lunch, he asked me to get the mail. I did, and his eyes bulged as he read the divorce papers my mom had sent to him. I remember he tried to hide his reaction. "Cara dear, I…I-need some…time alone, please. I'm sure Daren would love to come over…"

I cried for three days. Daren was there for most of the time, holding me and whispering sweet nothings in my ear. I couldn't understand why it hurt so much. She had hardly been there to begin with; this really wasn't that different. Maybe it was because she didn't even try to get partial custody of me. I mean, didn't she love me? I tried to be the way she wanted me to be. I soon gave up on the singing. I hurt too much. Dad took it pretty bad too. He absolutely threw himself into the pub for months, trying to forget mother.

He strangely got back to normal sooner than I thought. Then he told me why. He had met someone. She had won a trip to D.C. and had stopped in the pub for a drink. She and Dad talked for hours, and he was smitten. She came to the pub everyday and they went on a few dates. Then she had to go back to Washington, where she lived. She and my father emailed everyday, and talked on the phone as much as they could. Her husband had died from a heart attack. Dad left after months of emailing and calling to visit her in Washington. He came back engaged.

I'm not going to say I wasn't angry. After all, I had a life here. I had friends, the school, and Daren of course. But as soon as Daren told me he was going to an art school in Los Angeles, I felt better. It wasn't to far away from Washington. Much closer than D.C. was. And I was happy that Dad was happy.

I shake my head from the memories. Now wasn't the time. I walk to the trunk of our SUV and pull out two of my suitcases. "Oh, you made it!" calls my stepmother, Sue. I had met her once, and I liked her. She had a kind face. She runs into my father and hugs him, kissing his cheek. Then she turns to me.

"Hello Cara. I really hope you like it here. I'm afraid our house probably isn't what you're used to. You'll have to share a room with my daughter Leah. But I'm sure that your father already told you that."

I smiled. Yes, I was going to have a stepsister. And a stepbrother, Seth. I haven't met them yet, and I am extremely nervous. "Don't worry about it, Sue. I don't mind."

Susan Clearwater beams at me. My father had told me earlier that I could just call my new stepmother Susan or Sue. Susan and her kids had decided to keep their last name of Clearwater. My father didn't care; I could tell.

We walk into the house, and instantly I feel at home. The house is small, but homey. Sue shows me to my new room. It is a moderate size considering the size of the house. There's a twin bed covered with magazines, and one that is empty. I put my suitcases on the empty bed and, deciding to unpack later, join my father and Sue in the kitchen. They are laughing together, and I smile knowing that my father is truly happy. Sue glances at me. "How do you like the room Cara?"

I smile. "It's wonderful, but where are Leah and Seth?"

Sue's smile falters briefly. "They'll be out for a little while. You probably won't see them until the bonfire."

"Bonfire?" my father asks.

"Oh no! I told everyone that I wouldn't be able to keep it secret! The tribe is planning a bonfire for tonight to welcome you. It was supposed to be a surprise…"

Dad laughs. "Don't worry. We Irish are famous for our acting skills. They'll never know you told us."

Sue and I laugh. My father is constantly naming talents the Irish are famous for. Most of them, of course, he's just made up. "Well, Cara, feel free to look around the area. Just be back around seven for the bonfire. And," her eyes suddenly become solemn, "stay on the La Push grounds, dear. I don't want you wandering around Forks until someone can show you around."

I nod and head out the door, wanting fresh air. The backyard is small, placed right in front of the woods. I suddenly feel the urge to explore the woods. As I trudge through, I think about the bonfire. I'm not very social. Most people think I'm shy. I feel nervousness in the pit of my stomach. What if the people in La Push don't like me? I took a deep breath and shake that thought from my head. I sit on a log and enjoy the forest. It is lovely outside with the autumn air beginning to push out the summer. School would start in a few days, but I didn't even want to think about that.

Suddenly I hear crunching. I can't see anything, but it sounds like footsteps. A rabbit? No, too heavy. A fox? Bigger. Then I see something. All I can really make out is a huge gray flash. Whatever it was, it looked as big as a bear. I look at my hands and I realize I'm shaking. I don't know what that thing was, but I don't intend to find out and get eaten. Suddenly an earsplitting howl rings from the direction the thing went. I cover my ears and scream. My instinct tells me to run, but I'm frozen in place. _I'm going to be eaten. It's going to eat me. Not if I can stop it._ I push myself to run as fast as I can in the direction of the house. Wait, is that the way? I don't know anymore. I'm stumbling; every sound is that wolf-bear thing coming for me. I look behind me, praying that there is nothing following me. There isn't.

Then to my shock, I run into a tree. I fall and grab my head, cursing. These La Push trees are hard! I look up, preparing to curse the tree for all its worth, when I see it's not a tree at all. It's a man.

He is tall, around 6'7 or 6'8 . He is lean, but not skinny. Muscles ripple along his arms and uncovered chest. He's wearing cutoff jeans, and to my surprise, no shoes. His black hair is short, and his dark brown eyes piercing. There is a smirk on his features.

"Need help?" He asks. Then, before I can answer, he grabs my arm and pulls me up so that I'm standing.

"Thanks…" I say breathlessly.

"You shouldn't be in these woods. What are you doing here? Who are you? It doesn't matter. You need to leave. Go home."

I stare at him, shocked at his rudeness. "Um, excuse me, but last time I checked, you don't own these woods. I can be here if I want. I don't know who you think you are, but you have no right to tell me what to do. And for your information, I was on my way home, then this giant…wolf-bear came and tried to eat me." Bending the story wouldn't hurt, right? After all, it sounded good.

The man's eyes flashed in horror, then quickly to amusement. "A wolf-bear huh? Yeah, those are common around here. Don't worry though, they don't attack unless provoked." His smirk grew. "You hit your head pretty hard, huh?"

I gape at him. I hope the fury I'm feeling is showing on my face. "You have some nerve…" I mutter. "I don't care what you say. I know what I saw."

His smirk transforms into a scowl. He looks downright dangerous, and I can feel fear seeping into me. He leans in close to my face, until I can fell his breath blowing my hair. "Listen to me, sweetheart, you don't know what you're talking about. So why don't you just go home, and forget about it."

But I refuse to back down. Hoping my fear doesn't show, I lean in closer. "Or what? Why are you doing this? Why are you protecting it? What are you hiding?"

He suddenly turns away and begins walking deeper into the woods. "You didn't see anything. There are no wolves or bears in La Push. The town is about half a mile in the direction to your right. Just go home and forget about it."

"I won't forget about it!" I yell at him, but I don't think he can hear me. In desperation to have the last word, I yell louder, "And I'm _not_ your sweetheart!"

**Wow. Long. Please Review!!!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, here's the next chapter. But first, I would like to clear up a few things:**

**1.** **This is the summer of Eclipse, a.k.a. Bella should be getting married and changed at any time**

**2. That was Paul Cara ran into in the woods.**

**Once again, I own nothing!**

As I get ready for the bonfire in my room, I can't help but feel a little strange about what happened in the woods. Who was that guy? What was he doing by himself in the woods? Was he following me? And what was that…_creature_?

I want to tell Sue and Dad about this, but I don't want them to freak out. Dad's life is going so well right now. He's finally happy. I don't want to ruin that with my problems. I'll just stay out of the woods for a while.

I finish brushing my hair and examine myself in a mirror that is on a vanity separating my bed from Leah's. _This is as good as its going to get_, I think with a sigh. I put my auburn hair into a high ponytail and I only put a little makeup on: foundation, eyeliner, mascara, and a little bit off lip gloss. There really isn't anything too special about my features. I've got a decent face, not too special, with freckles dotting my nose and cheeks. I'm about 5'2. I'm not skinny, but not fat either. My friends say they're jealous of my figure, but I don't see what's so special. My favorite part of me would definitely have to be my eyes. I got them from my mother. They are a pale shade of gray, but they get lighter or darker depending on my mood.

"Honey, we've gotta go!" My father yells, breaking my thoughts.

I leave the house and climb into my dad's SUV and we drive off. I can hear Sue chattering away about "all the nice people" and how everyone is "like a big family" and how much I'll love it. I try to pay attention, but I can feel my nerves beginning to overpower me.

We pull up to the bonfire. "Welcome to First Beach," murmurs Sue.

When I think of beaches, I think of white sand, palm trees, and the warm sun. This is definitely not what I expect. But I find I like it more than my Bahamas-fantasy. It's beautiful in its own way, and I instantly know I'll be visiting this beach often to think. The towering bonfire is burning, and I wouldn't be surprised if all of the tribe was here now, smiling at me. Sue takes my arm and leads me from person to person, introducing many people.

"…and this here is Billy Black. He's been such a good friend to me since Harry died." Sue beams at the man in the wheelchair. He smiles at me, and I can feel my nervousness evaporating as I look into his kind face. We continue walking, then Sue quickly whispers in my ear, "We're about to meet Sam Uley and his fiancée Emily. Please try not to stare to long at her. They were camping one day and she was attacked by a bear…"

I have no idea what she's talking about. Emily is in the embrace of a man I assume is Sam, and she looks beautiful. But as Sue clears her throat, they leave their embrace and face us, and I can see the other side of Emily's face. I quickly look away from the scars on her face. But then I see the way Sam looks at her, and suddenly she's just as beautiful as she was before she turned her head.

We smile and shake hands and I suddenly just want to go home and sleep. This is all too much. But before I can even consider asking Dad, Sue yells out, "Seth honey, come over here!"

Oh God. I'm about to meet my new stepbrother. Dad told me he was fifteen years old, which made him two years younger than me. I turn to introduce myself, and find that I have to look up. There is no way this kid is fifteen. He is _huge_! He has to be about 6'4; he is skinny with short black hair and a shy but goofy smile on.

"Hey Cara. I'm Seth!" His grin put me at ease, and I know I am going to like Seth.

"Honey why don't you take Cara to find Leah. Then you can introduce her to the rest of the gang."

The gang? I thought this was called a tribe…before I could ask Seth steers me over to the other side of the bonfire. As we walk and he chatters about how much I am going to _love_ La Push, I notice something that troubles me. Seth looks just like that man in the woods. A little smaller, but still the resemblance is uncanny.

Suddenly we stop in front of a group of six people. Some are watching me, and others are concentrating on their food. They are all boys, well, more like men, except one who is a girl. Seth starts at one end of the group and begins to introduce me to what he calls the "gang." So far we had gotten through Embry and Quil, who both grinned widely at me, Collin and Brady, who looked to be younger than Seth, Jared, and his girlfriend Kim. They all greeted me warmly. Oh, and none of the boys, including Seth, were wearing shirts, which was shocking because it had to be around 50 degrees.

"Where are Leah and Paul?" asks Seth.

"Getting more food," Quil replies. Then he looks at me. "So are you ready for school Cara? I bet you'll have most of your classes with Paul, Jared, Embry and me. The school isn't that big so most of us are in the same-,"

"Wait, you guys are juniors?!" I'm shocked. I would have though they were in their twenties.

Everyone looks at each other with a smile that hints at some inside joke. "Yeah, we look pretty old for our age," Quil finally says.

"No kidding…" I mutter. La Push is getting to be weirder by the minute.

"Where's Jake?" Seth asks with caution. I wonder who Jake is, and why everyone seems to get upset when he's mentioned.

"He's still gone. Last I heard he was in Wyoming…" Embry sighs as he says this information.

Seth looks at my blank stare and explains. "Jake…liked this girl who is getting married to someone else. He's taking it pretty badly."

I nod and begin to reply when I hear a female voice proclaim, "They're making more hotdogs over there!" A girl who looks to be about three years older than me walks up to the boys, not noticing me.

Seth coughs. "Uh, Leah, Cara's here."

She turns around and looks at me. "Oh…hi." She doesn't smile, and I can feel hostility rolling off her in waves. _Great, that makes two people in La Push that don't like me. That's a nice start Cara…_

Leah turns and walks off to join people on the other side of the barn. She, like the La Push boys, is abnormally tall. She had to be about 5'11. Not as tall as the boys, but tall for a girl. What are they feeding these La Push teens?

As soon as Leah leaves, all the comfort I had been feeling evaporates and my nervousness returns. Seth smiles sympathetically at me. "Sorry Cara. Leah just needs time to get used to all of this. Don't pay any attention to her."

_Oh, that should be easy. Not like we share a room or anything_…Then a large, warm hand from behind me lands on my shoulder. "Hey, you must be Cara. I'm Paul and…"

He trails off as I turn and look at him. His eyes widen and he jerks his hand off my shoulder like it was on fire. I gasp in shock.

It's the boy from the woods.


	3. Chapter 3

**You didn't think I'd leave you at that cliffhanger, did you? Yes, I decided to post two chapters at once. You're welcome. I'm sure you'll probably have questions after this chapter, but be patient and I promise: They will be answered!**

I gape at him, not really sure what to do. Seth looks back and forth at us in confusion. "Did you guys already meet or something…?"

Right as I say "Yes," Paul says "No." Seth's confused expression stays on his face. I smile and look at Paul with innocence. Any nervousness I might have had transforms into anger. "Why, what are you talking about?" I ask Paul. Then I turn to Seth. "I actually ran into-it's Paul, right? Anyway, I ran into _Paul_ today. In the middle of the woods."

I study Seth's reaction. His expression is horrified. Then he sees me looking at him and he tries to mask it. "Oh, really?" he says warily. "That's typical because, Paul, uh…he likes to…hike…"

_Oh, he's in on it too?_ I look at Seth. "Uh huh. I'm sure that's _exactly_ what he was doing. I'm sure that I _imagined_ that he was doing anything suspicious. Just like I _imagined_ that wolf-thing coming after me in the woods, right?" Sarcasm is dripping off my voice. "Well, in that case, it was absolutely _marvelous_ meeting you. And I hope to never see you again, _Paul_." And with that, I turn on my heel and walk away.

I stomp far from the fire. There's nobody over here, and no one notices that I left, except all those boys, who must not care since they're not coming after me. I plop onto the ground and pull out my cell phone. I press the speed dial and listen to the phone ringing. _Please pick up, please pick up_…

"Hello?" A voice asks with rap music blaring in the backround. But it's not the voice I'm looking for. This one is female…

"Daren?" I ask, even though I know it's not him. Maybe it's part of the denial of the horrible truth I can see dawning on me. He's in college, after all. No time for his high-school girlfriend…

"I don't know where he is. This party's too big to go find him anyway…but this is his girlfriend. Can I help you? Who is this?"

I want to say something. Have one of those power moments like they do in the movies…_Girlfriend? Daren belongs to me. Back off bitch!_ But no words will come out.

"Are you still there? Hello?" The girl gives up and hangs up. But I don't care. I don't know what I'm thinking. Nothing really, I guess. I'm walking. Walking down the beach and into the woods. It's incredibly dark, but I don't care. I begin to walk faster, and then I'm running, and I don't even know where.

I trip on a root and go sprawling into the dirt. I must've cut my face, because strands of my hair that had escaped my ponytail were sticking to part of my temple and cheek. I sit up and lean against a tree, and that's when I cry.

I have no idea how long I cry. But I have to say: it wasn't pretty. I was sobbing and hiccupping and blubbering. Why? Why would he do this? What did I do? How could he possibly do this to me?

I want to go home. Not to Sue's house, but my _real_ home. In D.C., not La Push. I want it to be the way it used to be, with dad and me, and the pub, and my friends, and Daren…Everything was fine until we moved here.

"Stupid La Push," I blubber to myself. "With their stupid 'La Push gang' and their wolf-bears…"

A twig snaps to my right. I gasp, and fear begins to sink into me. Why did I go into the woods? A rustle. Whatever it is, it's getting closer. What if it was that wolf-bear thing again? I close my eyes and breathe deeply in an attempt to calm myself. No more noises had come since that rustle. I wait with my eyes claped shut for a few more seconds. Then I take the courage to open them. And I scream.

There is a man there, who seems to have come out of nowhere. He can't be from the tribe; he is so pale he seems almost translucent. But from what I can see, he is amazingly beautiful. I've never seen anyone, not a model, or movie star, as beautiful as he is.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you." He says with a British accent and a chuckle. "Are you lost?"

I smile shyly. "Yeah, I think so. You see, I was at a bonfire and-,"

"You should be more careful," he says, and quick as lightning he is at my side, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. He is unnaturally cold, and he feels like stone. Deep inside me is a primal instinct long-ago buried, that is telling me to be afraid. But like a moth to a flame, I feel myself being hypnotically attracted to this man. "The woods aren't always safe." He smiles and instead of letting go of my hand he kisses it. I blush, and he closes his eyes, like the blush brought him extreme…ecstasy. The instinct becomes more pronounced, telling me that this man is dangerous. But how can something dangerous be so beautiful?

He takes my chin in his hand and guides my gaze to his eyes. They are blood red. But instead of repelling me, they seem to draw me in. It's like I'm on a drug. As I look into his eyes I feel all my…_earthly_ problems slip away. I feel like I'm falling away from my body and floating, floating far away from anything bad. I never want this feeling to leave.

I sigh in contentment and he chuckles again. He breaks the gaze and I hear a whimper of protest far away. Then I realize it's me. He brings his mouth to my ear. Oh God, he smells so _intoxicating_…

"Do you like how I make you feel darling?" he murmurs, his breath teasing my hair. I sigh and, afraid my voice won't work, nod. Then he backs away and looks into my eyes again. "Come with me, and you can stay this way…I can make you feel _wonderful_. Don't let that _boy_ make you feel…insignificant. You are _beautiful_."

Just the sound of his voice brings me deeper into the abyss. Even that instinct telling me to leave has faded away. I am beautiful. I am amazing. And I want to always feel this.

He seems to be waiting for an answer, and when I don't, he shrugs. "As you wish," he says, and turns away, beginning to walk deeper into the woods.

As soon as he begins to leave I feel the sensation begin to leave with him. It's easy to find my voice. "Wait!" I call as I stumble towards him. He turns and looks at me, and the marvelous feeling returns. Everything is getting hazy. All I see is him. Without a word, he takes my hand, and we walk.

I don't know how long we walk. I do know that I couldn't take my eyes off of him the whole time. Eventually we reach a small stream. Then we stop, and he gracefully sits down, pulling me down with him. He still says nothing, but instead takes the hand he is holding brings my wrist to his nose.

"_Delectable_," he murmurs as he inhales. Then he drops my hand and cups my face with his hands. And he kisses me.

My friends and I used to joke around when we were in middle school, calling everything we could _orgasmic_. We thought we were cool because we knew what it meant, even though I soon realized how immature that was.

But that was the only word I can think to describe him kissing me. His feel, his smell, his taste, all of it was simply _orgasmic_. All coherent thoughts left me when he kisses me. Then his lips leave mine and move to my neck, kissing, sucking…

He picks the spot where my pulse throbbed and focuses all of his attention on that one spot. It starts with the kissing, then moves to licking and sucking. Soon he is nipping at the spot. His nips hurt a little, but it feels so _good_.

I didn't deserve this. I had to repay him somehow, make him feel the things he was making me feel. But as I try to push him away so I could kiss _his_ neck, he growls and pushes me roughly to the ground so that I was lying down with him on top of me.

For an instant the feeling begins to leave again, and that instinct replaces it, screaming at me to run while I still can. But he quickly stops my halfhearted struggles to leave my kissing me quickly on the lips.

"Shh, now stop. It's alright," he purrs. He continues with that spot on my neck. Then he murmurs something. I'm not sure what it is, I was so far out of it, but it sounds like, "This won't hurt too much…"

Then he stops kissing me and whips his head around. "What? Impossible…"

I hear a howl in the distance, followed by many similar howls. The man quickly stands and runs, jumping across the stream. I stand to follow him, but find my legs won't move. Even though he is gone, this time the intoxicating sensation won't leave so quickly. I see several huge blurs that are snarling and growling move past me in the direction of the man. Maybe the blobs are those wolf-bears. I don't worry about it though. They won't hurt me. Nothing can touch me from up here…

One of those blurs stops and looks at me. It's that gray wolf thing from earlier. I don't want to see it. It's making that feeling leave me. I close my eyes and concentrate on keeping the high.

I hear rustling and then footsteps coming towards me. "Cara? Cara, it's Paul. Don't be afraid. Nothing's going to hurt you. You're safe now; you can open your eyes."

I do open my eyes and see the concerned ones of Paul's. Concerned? About me? I really am dreaming after all. But the feeling is still there, just a thin haze of it though. I like this dream…

Paul is saying something, but I don't hear him. I have to find that man…

Suddenly I'm shaking. Paul is grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. Not very hard, but it's making the haze go away. But instead of allowing the feeling to leave, I close my eyes and fall…


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, before I give you the next chapter, I just want to let you know that I made some changes on the author's note from Chapter 2…so Paul **_**did**_** actually imprint on Cara…And also, I only got 2 reviews for my last chapter. So if you read my story, **_**please**_** review! And thanks to those people who do review! It keeps me going!**

_"She's still sleeping?"_

_"She went through a lot, Jared. Besides, Paul said he got the feeling she was in some kind of…trance. We don't know what that could have done to her."_

_"What happens if she doesn't wake up Sam?"_

_"SHUT UP JARED!"_

_"Paul, calm down. She'll wake up. Just give her time."_

I don't know why there are so many voices. And everything is so dark. I feel hung over. My head is killing me. I want to go back to sleep, but the voices keep talking…

I groan and open my eyes…and see a bunch of concerned faces staring at me. "You're awake," one of them says. I remember him now. Sam Uley. Now when did I meet him? How do I know him?

"What…happened?" I murmur in complete confusion. I remember moving to La Push, and then it gets blurry…

"You were attacked," Sam says. "At the bonfire last night. Do you remember now?"

I close my eyes and concentrate. I remember that guy in the woods, the wolf or bear or whatever it was, I remember…I left. I was mad, and I left the bonfire. Oh yeah, Daren cheated on me. Then what happened?

Then it hits me. The man. That feeling he gave me. But instead of remembering that feeling, cold terror seeps into me, and I'm shaking. My body's punishing me for ignoring that instinct.

"What the hell is happening?!" A voice demands, and I see Paul, and he's shaking too.

"Paul!" Sam's voice rings with authority. "Calm down. Don't lose it." What is he talking about? Then Sam's attention is on me again, looking for an answer. I take a deep breath. "Yes, I remember now," I whisper shakily.

"Will you tell us what happened? We need to know what we're dealing with since we didn't get him in the woods…" Sam looks like he's said too much, so he clamps his mouth shut.

Then I remember what led to me leaving the bonfire in the first place to call Daren. That big "La Push" secret everyone seems to know. I shake my head at Sam. "No," I say stubbornly. "I'm not telling any of you anything. Not until _you_ tell _me_ what's going on. You're all hiding something, and I want to know what it is!"

Sam opens his mouth to argue, but something in my eyes must've stopped him, because he sighs. "Fine. But first, you must promise something. Anything we tell you right now you will not repeat. Do you understand?"

I nod. "I promise."

Sam sighs again. "Have you ever been told any La Push legends?"

"Yeah. Sue told my father a lot of her favorite legends, and my dad told me. Why?"

They all have that "inside joke" face on again. "So if you know all of Sue's favorite legends, then I imagine you know about the protectors of La Push right?" Sam asks.

I scoff. "Sure. The La Push protectors are said to be werewolves, protecting people from 'the cold ones,' or vampires. There's supposedly a treaty between the werewolves and a family-,"

"Coven," Jared interrupts.

I roll my eyes. "Whatever. There's a treaty between the werewolves and a _coven_ of vampires in the town that don't kill humans. As long as those vampires don't bite a human or go on the rez, then there won't be any sort of war, and the werewolves will stay on the La Push side of the border. It's just a campfire story to scare kids and keep them from running off too far. I don't see where this is going…"

The next words from Sam are spoken slowly, like I'm a toddler. "That's exactly it. The legends are true."

I look at Sam in shock. "You're kidding, right? That's ridiculous. You're saying that right now, there are a bunch of wolf-people running around, looking for vampires…?"

Sam shook his head. "Not running around now. They're all in here."

I look around, and see everyone from that "La Push Gang" at the bonfire, except for Emily and Kim. There is one boy there I don't recognize too. I look at Sam again. "What is this, some of kind of…cult? You guys walk around telling people you turn into wolves?!"

"We don't go around telling people this, which is why you had to promise you wouldn't tell."

I think for a minute about this whole thing. I guess it would make sense. Those wolf things were way too big to be normal wolves. And they howled, which ruled out bears. And every time I saw one of those wolves, Paul would be there. "Okay…" I say slowly. "Prove it then."

Sam shook his head. "I figured you'd say that."

Suddenly Seth is shaking Sam's shoulder. "Can I show her? Oh, that'd be so cool! She _is_ my new sister. I should get to show her."

Sam laughed. "Fine, you can show her." Seth grinned widely until Sam added, "Since you're one of the smallest, you probably won't scare her anyway."

Seth glowers and trudges out of the room. Everyone begins to file out. "You need help?" Sam asks.

"No. But I do need to go to the bathroom…"

Sam points to a door next to the one everyone was exiting from. "Right there. Just meet us outside."

I smile. "Thanks. Where am I anyway?"

"You're at my house. Don't worry, Sue's with your dad now, explaining _everything_ to him. He'll probably be over in an hour or so."

I nod and walk into the bathroom. I didn't want to admit it to Sam, but I _do_ feel a little weak on my feet. Oh well. I'll get to go home after dad realizes we're with a tribe full of psychos who think they're wolves. I look at myself in the bathroom mirror. I'm a mess. There's a huge cut on my face. My hair makes it look like _I_ should be the one claiming to be a werewolf. Oh well. I turn to leave, then I notice something on my neck. I move the hair blocking it and gasp. It's a _huge _hickey. Right where my pulse is. I touch it. It's ice cold. I shudder, remembering last night. Anything I felt for that man is gone, replaced by fear and disgust.

I walk out of the bathroom and stumble. I expect to hit the ground, but someone catches me and holds onto my waist. To my shock, it's Paul. "Careful there," he says quietly. "You okay?"

I'm confused. He hates me one day, and now this? Well I'm still mad. "Not like you care either way," I spit out. I try to jerk out of his grasp, but I don't move.

Paul holds onto me and looks me in the eyes. They're so dark and deep, and I feel something shift in me. No, not shift…_connect_. "You're still pissed about the whole woods-thing." He doesn't say it as a question, but I still answer.

"Yes I am! You were a complete jerk to me. And I didn't even do anything!"

He finally breaks eye contact, but I can still see his eyes. And they're filled with remorse. "Yeah, I know. I was an ass. It's just, you _saw me_. As a _wolf_. That could've turned out so bad. And there were other things…but it doesn't matter. I shouldn't have acted that way, and I'm sorry."

I want to forgive him. But I still think he's absolutely crazy. "Okay," I finally say. "If Seth actually turns into a wolf out there, then your excuse is a good one, and I'll forgive you." That makes it easy.

Paul grins, actually grins, and says, "I _knew_ you'd forgive me!"

I roll my eyes. "Aren't we sure of ourselves…" I mutter.

He lets out a booming laugh and half leads, half drags me out of the house and into the front yard. Everyone is waiting, and they seem just as shocked as I am that Paul's grinning and laughing. We stop so that we're in the front of the group next to Sam. Emily is on his other side. "Hello Cara." She says. The only person in front of us is Seth. He's about fifteen feet away, and I can still see has that goofy grin on. "You're going to love this, Cara!" He says. Emily sighs. "I guess I should go get an extra pair of pants," she murmurs, and walks back into the house. Just when I thought I couldn't be more bewildered…

"Okay Cara," Sam says, "Seth is going to change now. Just don't freak out. He's not going to hurt you." Paul still hasn't let go of my waist, and his grip tightens. He is so warm. It's _insane_.

"You ready Cara?" Seth calls.

"Sure," I say incredulously.

Seth closes his eyes. Nothing happens. I'm about to mention this fact when I notice that he's shaking. At first it isn't too bad, but they begin to worsen until he is trembling so bad I am surprised he can stand. I've only known Seth for a day, but I like him. And I'm worried about him as tremors rock down his whole frame.

"Seth, are you okay?" I yell. I begin to walk to him but Paul's grip tightens again, holding me back. "Just watch," he says.

Suddenly Seth crouches, and his whole body explodes into golden…fur. He stops trembling and turns. And howls.

In the place of Seth is a giant wolf.


	5. Chapter 5

Now Paul doesn't have to hold me back. I'm reeling into him and I bury my face into his chest. I'm terrified. I can feel his chest rumble as he chuckles. "Don't be scared, Cara," he soothes. "Just look."

I slowly turn and see that…Seth, the wolf-boy…is right in front of me. I squeal and start to run but Paul holds onto me. Seth whines and lowers onto the ground, looking at me in the eye. His eyes are so…human. I stop trying to run. "…Seth?" I ask cautiously.

He barks and wags his tail. Now I let go of Paul completely and, very tentatively, touch Seth's fur. It's surprisingly soft. Seth barks again and knocks me over, licking my face.

"Aw, Seth, that's disgusting!" I squeal, but he doesn't stop. I begin laughing and can't stop. Finally Seth gets off of me. How could I have thought he was scary? Now all I see is a giant puppy. I giggle and pet him again. "Whose a good boy?" I tease, and Seth backs away, shaking his head.

Sam steps up with Emily at his side. "Alright Seth, here's some pants, now go change back." Seth grabs the jeans in Emily's arms gently with his teeth and trots into the woods. Now I get it. His pants tear into shreds when he changes. Sam looks at me. "Believe us now?" he asks, and I can hear the smugness in his voice.

"I don't know, it could be some kind of illusion…" Everyone gapes at me. "I'm kidding!" I say. "That's what I get when I try to make a joke," I mutter.

Now it's Sam, instead of me, who rolls his eyes. "Funny. Now we need to go inside and discuss last night."

Everyone goes back inside and sits at a kitchen table. I sit in a chair, and Quil begins to sit next to me, but Paul grabs his shoulder. "I'm sitting there," he says roughly. Quil shrugs and sits on the kitchen counter instead. Paul sits beside me and takes my hand. It feels so…right. _Stop it, Cara_, I tell myself. _You just got cheated on and then attacked. Not the time for this._ But I make no attempt to pull my hand away.

Sam sits at the head of the table, on the other side of me. "Alright, let's get started. Cara, we need you to tell us everything that happened."

Suddenly something hits me. "Wait a second. That man from last night, is he a…vampire?"

Sam nods his head. "Yes. Which is why it's so important that you tell us…"

I'm no longer listening. I pull my hand away from Paul's and lightly touch the hickey. He was _nipping_ me there. He was going to bite me…

I shriek and jump from the chair. I swipe at the hickey, trying to wipe of all traces of the icy mark. Paul stands too in confusion. "Cara, what is it? Are you hurt? What's wrong?" He gently grabs my hand and restrains them both with one of his. With his other hand he gently moves my hair and looks at my neck. He touches the hickey, and then jerks his hands back, letting me go.

"Jesus _Christ_!" He's trembling, and he reminds me of Seth earlier. "Her _neck_, Sam! He almost bit her! There's a freakin' _hickey_ on her neck! It smells like the leech! Oh god." He's beyond coherent speech as tremors shake through him.

"Paul, calm down!" Sam says with worry. "Don't lose control Paul. Not here. Don't forget what happened last time."

I don't know what he's talking about, but it doesn't seem to help Paul any. He's still violently shaking. Now I'm getting scared. "…Paul?" I ask with worry.

Suddenly he stops trembling. He looks at me with guilt. "I'm sorry," he mutters, and sits back down. He doesn't grab my hand.

Sam looks at me. "Go ahead, Cara."

I proceed to tell them everything that happened. Except for Daren. I just tell them that I was so mad about Paul and Seth that I ran off.

When I finish the whole story I feel the table shaking. It's Paul. But this time just his arms are trembling. I put my hand on his but he pulls away. I have to admit, this stings, and I look away from him and back at Sam.

"So you're saying, he put you into a trance?" Sam asks.

I nod. "I guess that is the best way to describe it. I just don't understand how he could do that."

"Some vampires have…special powers. It seems to get more and more common though," Sam says dryly. Then he stands.

"Where are you going?" Embry asks.

"We need to know more about this bloodsucker. He escaped from us, and I need to know whether he was just passing through, or if we have a bigger problem on our hands. And I know who we need to ask."

"Who?" I ask.

"The Cullens."

**Please please please review!!!!!!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, I don't own anything. And thanks to all who reviewed! Please continue to do so!!!**

Everyone gapes at Sam. "No." Comes a voice. I turn and see it is the boy who I didn't recognize. "I'm not setting a foot in that house."

Sam sighs. He seems to do that a lot. "Okay, I understand, Jacob. You don't have to go."

So that was Jacob. I look at him. He looks…dead. I can see devastation radiating off of him. I feel bad for him. He must have really loved that girl.

They begin discussing who will go. "Well I'm definitely going," Sam announces. "And so are you." He's looking at me.

"Then I'm going too." It's Paul. I swear he's bipolar. One minute he's a jerk, then he's nice, then he ignores me and shakes me off, and now he's protective. Sam still wants two more people to go, so they begin discussing again.

I turn to Paul in exasperation. "Who are the Cullens?" I ask.

Paul leans in close to me. "They are the vampires that live in Forks, the town right out of La Push."

I shudder. "So I have to go into a house full of vampires?" I really don't want to do that…

Paul takes my hand and rubs his thumb on it in smoothing circles. "They won't hurt you. And if they tried, I'd be right there."

Okay, I've had enough of this. I jerk my hand back. Paul's eyes are full of hurt. "Paul," I snap, "stop it. You can't be a jerk one minute, nice the next, and then ignore me after that!"

He looks confused. "When did I ignore you?"

"Just a second ago! I tried to take your hand, and he pulled away…" I look down biting my lip. I don't want him to know that he hurt me.

I feel his hand on my face, and my gaze is directed back to him. "It's not like that, Cara," he insists. "I was really mad that the dirty bloodsucker…_marked _you like that and I was afraid that I'd lose control and …hurt you."

"What do you mean, 'lose control'?" I ask. "Sam keeps saying that…"

He leans in closer, so I can feel his breath on my face. He smells so good…like the woods, the sea, and just a little hint of…cinnamon. "You've seen Emily's face." It wasn't a question, but he seemed to be waiting for a response, so I nod. "One day, Sam got really mad around Emily and…lost control. He phased into a wolf, and now you see the consequence."

I gasp. He nods. "He has to live _every day_ knowing he did that to her. I don't want to do something like that to you."

I nod. "I understand."

"So it's decided." We both look at Sam when he says this. "Paul, Cara, Jared, Quil, and I will go."

The boy named Jacob is now standing with Leah, who hasn't said a word to me this whole time. "I don't see why we have to go to all this trouble," he mutters. "We could catch the bloodsucker easily if he's still here."

Sam glares at Jacob. "And how do you propose we do that?"

Now Jacob looks at me. The devastation in his eyes is masked with hostility. "We use _her_," he gestures to me, "as bait."

Paul lets out a fierce roar and pushes me behind him. He is shaking and growling wildly. He's in a crouch and his arms are spread out. "Take that _back_!" he roars. I've never heard anything more terrifying than the growls coming from deep in his chest.

"Or. What." Jacob's words are a challenge. Paul doesn't answer that.

"If this had been _Bella_ we were talking about, things would be a little different!"

Now Jacob was trembling too. "Don't you _ever_ say that name! You have no idea what you're talking about!"

Both boys are facing each other, wild growls emerging from their throats. They only thing separating them is the kitchen table. Sam looks from me to Emily in horror. "Help me get them outside!" he yells to the other boys. But Jacob and Paul don't need any help. Jacob sprints out the door, Paul close behind. I quickly run out too, but I stay on the front porch.

The boys are circling each other slowly, snarling ferociously. "I don't see why you're so against the idea Paul," Jacob snaps. "Unless you're too _weak_ to protect her."

Paul's growls get louder. "Well at least I know she won't be running off with a leech anytime soon!"

That seems to do Jacob in. He opens his mouth to reply, but an earsplitting howl. I close my eyes and cover my ears. I open them again and Jacob isn't there. In his place is a massive rusty wolf.

He had to be twice the size the Seth was. And he doesn't look like a cute puppy. He is snarling, his teeth snapping. He lunges for Paul, still human. I scream in fear. Paul jumps to meet the attack.

He hits Jacob, but as an enormous silver wolf. He changed so fast; I hardly saw it. When they collided, it sounded like thunder. They were still snarling and snapping at each other. But they began to retreat into the woods.

Sam looked at Emily. "We'll be needing pants," he told her. He quickly kissed her, and then he was running into the woods. I could see him trembling as he disappeared.

I wildly turned to Seth. "Are they gonna be okay?!"

I heard Leah mutter, "Oh for God's sake…" and return into the house. Meanwhile Embry looked at Jared. "Twenty bucks says Jacob gets a chunk out of Paul." I look at him in horror.

"No way, Paul's gonna get some of Jacob. I've never seen him so pissed. You're on."

Seth saw my expression and laughed. "Relax, Cara. They'll be fine. Werewolves heal incredibly fast."

I nodded and walked numbly into the kitchen. I sat on a kitchen chair in disbelief. To think yesterday the only thing I was worried about was whether or not people would like me here…

Someone sighed and sat next to me. It was Emily. "Don't worry. They'll be back soon. You'll get used to it. Paul has…quite the temper."

I nod. "Apparently…this is so much to take in."

Emily smiled sympathetically. "I know, sweetheart. Believe me. But it's pretty great. Like having one big family."

"Yeah, except Jacob and Leah both hate me."

Emily frowns. "Leah just has to…get used to this. It's hard enough being the only girl in a pack of werewolves. She's had a pretty tough life. And as for Jacob, he is so heartbroken. The Cullen's son, Edward, married the girl Jacob loves, Bella."

I gasp. "Oh my goodness. It must be hard enough to lose someone like that, but to lose them to your enemy…" I trail off.

Then the door opens. Everyone walks in, including Sam, Jacob, and Paul. Paul takes his seat next to me. There is a huge pink scar going down his arm that wasn't there earlier.

"Oh my god Paul!" I exclaim. I put my hands on his arm, lightly trailing down the still-fading scar. "Are you alright?"

He looked at me and groaned. "You worry too much Cara. I'm fine! Looks, it's already almost gone."

I look. True enough, the scar is almost gone. "Wow. You do heal fast." I say, impressed.

He grinned and shook his head. "Cara, Cara, Cara. You have so much to learn."

"Aright you two. Let's go." We nod to Sam and stand up. "You gone on out to my truck. I'm going to call Carlisle to let him know we're coming."

We walk outside to find that the inside of Paul's truck is full with Jared and Quil. Paul shrugs. "Looks like we'll be in the back. We walk to the bed of the pickup truck. I am about to climb in when my feet are swept from under me. I let out a yelp of surprise. Paul just chuckles, a deep rumble, and sets me gently into the bed of the truck, then he hops in himself.

"I could have done that myself," I say, trying to pretend to be angry. He rolls his eyes. "I'm so sure…" he muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demand.

"Well, there's that," he pointed to the cut on my face, "and the fact that the first time I saw you, you ran into me."

I roll my eyes. "Humph. Whatever." I turn away from him. I loved flirting with him.

I feel breathing in my ear. "Oh I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings?"

I turn to retort, and all comebacks are out of my mind. We are so _close_. Inches away. He seems to notice too. His eyes widen, then they seem to darken. "Cara," he says huskily. "I need to tell you…"

Suddenly the engine starts, and the truck jolts forward, sending me flying into Paul. He caught me and situated me to that I'm sitting in his lap. Which is a good thing, because it's starting to rain, and it's freezing outside. I snuggle into Paul's chest, grateful for the warmth. "is the body heat a werewolf thing?" I ask.

Paul nods. We sit in silence after that. I look at Paul, and he seems distressed. "Hey, are you okay?" I ask tentatively. He looks at me, worry in his eyes.

"How can you sit here with me?"

I look at him with confusion. "I don't…understand-,"

"I turned into a freakin' _wolf_, Cara. Right in front of your eyes! How can you not be terrified?! I can only imagine how I must've looked…" He trails off, shame all over his face.

I sigh and look at Paul in the eyes. "Paul, don't be ridiculous. I'll admit, it was a little frightening, but I'm definitely not scared of you. I feel safer with you than with anyone else I've ever known. The only thing I'm scared of right now is going into a house of vampires."

Paul smiles, but I can still see the worry in his eyes. "Don't worry about them," he says with confidence. "If they even think about hurting you, they'll have to deal with us."

I grin and snuggle further into his chest. The rain is coming down pretty hard now, and I'm getting really wet. And cold. Paul wraps his arms around me. "Come with me later," he whispers in my ear. "There are some things I need to tell you. Alone."

I nod my head. Of course, I'll have to take a shower first. I grimace at how terrible I must look. And smell. It doesn't seem to bother Paul though, whose eyes are closed with content while he holds me.

The truck turns off the highway onto what seems to be a driveway. It was _long_. We drove for almost five more minutes before the truck slowed to a stop. I gasped at what stood before me. These vampires had it _made_. I'd never seen a house so huge. We walk up to the front door, but before anyone can knock, the door opens.

"Welcome," says a strikingly beautiful man. He has golden hair and was as pale as the man-no, vampire-from last night. But unlike the other vampire, this one's eyes are a gorgeous butterscotch color. The man's eyes shift from Sam to me. "Hello," he says with a warm smile. "You must be Cara. I'm Carlisle. Come in." He walks into the house, everyone else following. Paul links my fingers with his and squeezes. "Don't be scared. They may be leeches, but they won't hurt you," he assures me.

We walk into the beautiful mansion. There are six others in the room besides Carlisle. They are all absolutely stunning, all with the same golden eyes. Carlisle introduces them to me: Esme, a motherly looking figure who greets me with a warm smile; Edward, who nods in acknowledgement; Alice, a small pixie of a girl who grins at me; Jasper, who says hello and puts an arm around Alice; and Emmett, who is terrifyingly huge. The last of the Cullens to be introduced is Rosalie. As soon as I see her I feel disappointment replace my nervousness. I am sad, for I know there is no possible way I could ever compare to the beauty in front of me. It's unnatural for someone so beautiful to exist. She ignores me and flips her blond hair in impatience.

"Well," Carlisle says, breaking my reverie, "now that everyone's introduced, why don't you tell us about your encounter last night?"

I swallow, the nervousness back. But then I feel a wave of calm sweep over me. It felt strange, like something was inside of me. I remember this feeling. It was similar to the feeling from last night. I look at the one called Jasper. He is looking at me with a mild expression of concentration. "How are you…doing that?" I whisper.

He seems shocked. "I-well-,"

"She means your ability," the bronze-haired one says. What was his name? Edward. "When some of us are changed," he says to me, "we develop…abilities. Mine is mind reading, Alice's is to see the future, and Jasper can sense and manipulate emotions. He was trying to make you feel less nervous."

Esme looks at me with confusion. "But how could she tell? No one can ever tell, unless they already know."

Before I can reply, Edward answers for me. "She remembers the feeling from last night, right?"

I nod. Carlisle clears his throat. "Thank you Edward. But now I think Cara should tell the story."

I begin to tell them the same things I told the pack earlier. When I finish, Carlisle nods, his expression thoughtful.

"I think you're right," Edward agrees. I look at him, bewildered. No one had said anything…

"He was agreeing with what I was thinking," Carlisle explains. "I was thinking of a vampire Edward, Esme, and I encountered before anyone else was with us. His name was Lucian. He had a very unique ability, sort of a combination of Edward and Jasper's. He could get inside your mind, and figure out your deepest fears and desires. Then he could create sort of a haze in your mind, hypnotizing you, making you see what he wants you to see, and getting you to do whatever he wants with little resistance. Very useful for hunting. If you could, Cara, try to remember exactly what he looked like and sounded like. Also try to remember the feeling he gave you. Picture it in your head so Edward can take a look."

I close my eyes and remember. He was of average height, slender, but strong. He had light brown hair that went to his shoulders. I remember the accent. And the feeling. It would be hard to forget that.

I open my eyes and peer at Edward anxiously. He nods his head and looks at Carlisle. "It's him," he confirms.

Carlisle sighed. "I was afraid of that," he says wearily. Then he looks at everyone else. "I'm afraid then that we have another James on our hands then. Once he sees what he wants, he won't stop until he gets it." Paul quickly pulls me against his chest. Carlisle continues. "I'm afraid we'll probably have to destroy him."

Edward murmurs something so quietly that I can't hear. Carlisle's expression is one of surprise, and his gaze shifts briefly to Paul and me then back to Edward. "I see," he mutters. Then he looks at Sam. "If we see him, we'll try to inform him of the…situation and convince him to leave. If he refuses, we'll end him. But for now, why don't we go into my office and discuss possible changes on the boundary lines."

Sam nods and motions to Quil, Jared, and Paul. "Let's go."

Paul reluctantly lets go of me and goes with Sam and the others. Rosalie and Edward also leave with them. Which leaves me with Alice, Jasper, Esme, and Emmett. Esme looks at me kindly. "Why don't you sit down dear," she suggests. "It could take awhile."

I nod and go to the couch. Emmett is already sitting on it, and I perch as far away from the giant as I can. He looks at me and chuckles. "Don't be scared. I don't bite!" he laughs at his own joke. "Well, not you, anyway."

Alice dances to Emmett and punches his arm. The grace that these creatures move in is astounding. "Don't be a jerk, Emmett," she scolds. "Can't you see she's terrified?"

I try to hide my trembling from them, but it isn't working well. Then I feel the wave of calm come over me again. I look at Jasper. "Thanks," I mumble. He nods.

I look at Alice. "So can you really see the future?" I ask shyly.

She grins and nods. "I can, but it can change as soon as someone changes their mind. You know what I'm saying?" I nod. "I also can't see the future of any of the werewolves. Or of people when they are with werewolves. Which means I probably won't be getting many visions of you."

After that small conversation, the rooms lapses into silence. Emmett turns the television to Comedy Central and we watch that, though I couldn't tell you anything we watch. After what seems like an eternity, everyone comes out of Carlisle's office.

"Thank you for being understanding about this," Sam says formally.

"It's no problem," Carlisle assures him.

"Tell him not to worry," Edward says to Sam, and I quickly realize it's in response to something Sam thought. "Bella's in Florida with her mother for another month. She wanted to have time to say goodbye before-,"

"I get it," Sam interrupts. "I'll tell Jacob."

"One more thing," Carlisle says cautiously. "I was wondering if maybe we could…get a sample of Lucian's scent off of Cara. It would make finding him easier."

"Absolutely not," Paul says with a calmness that is almost as frightening as when he's angry. He puts an arm around me. "I don't want you bloodsuckers that close."

"That's not your decision," Sam says with authority. "It's up to Cara."

Everyone looks at me. I glance at Paul and smile weakly. "It'll be fine," I say in an attempt to reassure him. His face is full of restraint as he backs away from me. Then, one by one each member of the Cullen family walk up and sniff my neck, right where the hickey is. Emmett shudders. "Ugh, smells like dog," he mutters. The last one to do it is Jasper. He hesitantly smells me and immediately his eyes darken. He clenches his jaw and deliberately backs away. Carlisle eyes him warily. "I think it would be best for you to leave now," he tells us.

I am happy to oblige. The Cullens are kind, but it is too creepy to be around people who should be dead. We leave the mansion in the same way we came: Sam, Jared, and Quil in the truck, and me nestled in Paul's lap in the back. While we ride home, Paul tells me about the werewolves some more, explaining the high temperatures, the growth, the mind reading when they're wolves, and the fact that they didn't age. It is fascinating.

We pull up to Emily's house and Paul hops out with me in his arms. "You ready to go?" He asks.

"I need to get ready first," I say with finality. "I need to take a shower. I reek."

He laughs loudly. "You smell fine to me," he insists.

"Well to most _normal_ people, I smell disgusting I'm sure. I'm showering first whether you like it or not."

He rolls his eyes. "_Fine_," he groans dramatically. I go into the house and walk up to Emily, asking if I can use the shower.

"Sure hon. And I've got some clothes that I'm sure will fit you. And some makeup if you want to use some."

I smile and she leads me into the bathroom, a change of clothes in her hands. A while later I am ready, dressed in jeans and a purple long-sleeved v-neck shirt of Emily's. I put on some eyeliner and mascara then dry my hair. I decide to leave it down. I have to admit, I look pretty good. Purple is definitely a good color on me. I head down the stairs and slip on my tennis shoes. Paul is in the kitchen talking to Jared. He stops talking when he sees me and looks at me with awe. I blush and look at the ground. Before I know it he is tilting my chin upward. "You look beautiful," he murmurs.

I feel my blush deepen. "Uh, let's go," I stammer.

Paul nods and we walk outside. He takes my hand and begins walking into the woods. I look to the sky. The sun was beginning to set. It was getting dark. My heartbeat quickens. "Do we have to go in there?" I ask.

Paul looks at me. "Don't worry. Nothing will hurt you. Just hold onto my hand, and close your eyes. I'll lead you. We'll be there before you know it."

I comply and shut my eyes, pretending we are somewhere else. Paul is an expert at leading me; I didn't trip once. Eventually we stop and I open my eyes to the most beautiful view. We are at the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. Behind us is all woods. I sit down. "It's beautiful," I whisper.

Paul smiles. "Okay, now stay here. I'll be right back." Before I can object he is dashing into the woods. As soon as he leaves the sun dips fully below the horizon, the moonlight the only light left. I take deep breaths. _Calm down Cara. He'll be right back. He promised._ Then it hits me. The only person that would make me feel better is Paul. _Stupid girl._ I think. And I have good reason to think that:

For I realize that I've fallen in love with Paul.


	7. Chapter 7

I sigh. Will I ever learn? I get cheated on by my boyfriend and then I fall for the next guy I meet. I shake my head. How smart of me.

A rustle in the bushes informs me that Paul is coming back. But it's not the Paul I expect. A silver wolf comes into the clearing and cautiously approaches me. But I'm not afraid. I'm _entranced_. "You're…beautiful," I say breathlessly. He makes a noise that I sounds like a scoff and plops down next to me. I run my fingers through his fur. "And you're soft," I murmur teasingly. I scratch behind his ears, and me makes a purring noise. I lean against him and look at the stars that are beginning to show in the sky. After about an hour of just sitting there, he gets up and trots back into the woods. Paul comes back out as a human.

"What'd you think?" he asks nervously, sitting next to me.

"I think it's amazing." I smile at him.

Paul takes a deep breath and takes my hands in his. "Cara, I have to tell you something. There's another part of being a werewolf. We thought it wasn't common, but it's been happening to a lot of us. It's called imprinting." Then he tells me about how the werewolves find their equivalent of a soul mate. The way he describes it is incredibly romantic. "Like I said, we thought it rarely happened. Then Sam imprinted on Emily, Jared on Kim, and Quil on Claire."

"I know Kim and Emily, but who's Claire?"

"I'm not surprised that you haven't met her. Please don't freak out when I say this, but Claire's two." I try to control my expression, but I know my mouth is gaping.

"Let me explain," Paul continues. "Right now, Quil doesn't love her as anything more than he would a little sister. When she gets older, he'll always be there for her. And when she's old enough, then he'll start to pursue a more romantic relationship."

"What if the person they imprint on doesn't love them?" I ask.

Paul looks away sadly. "Then they're free to stay friends and find someone else. But that hasn't happened…yet." He clears his throat. His hands begin to shake. But why is he angry?

"Paul? What is it?" He looks at me, and I realize that he's not shaking in anger, but in fear.

"Cara, I wanted you to know that I've…imprinted too."

I feel like I've been stabbed. The air rushes out of my lungs, and pain fills my body. I automatically hate the girl. She doesn't realize how lucky she is…

I stand up and turn away, so he doesn't see the tears. "Well I'm glad you let me know," I snap. "I'm sure you two are perfect for each other."

Paul turns me around. He takes in my expression and tears and says quietly, "Oh, Cara…why do you think I told you that? Do you think I'm looking for approval by you for another girl?"

I feel hope rise in me. But I force it down and shrug. "I guess so..."

Paul cups my face with his shaking hands. "Cara, you're so…" he doesn't finish.

"I know, okay? I'm stupid! I'm stupid because I've only known you for two days and I've fallen in love with you Paul!"

He looks at me with shock, and another emotion I can't describe. Then he grins. "You are stupid," he agrees, "for not seeing that I love you too."

"But what about your imprint?"  
"Well, I'm not sure," he says, letting go of my face. "I mean, I just told her I loved her, but she doesn't seem to be taking it well."

Instantly the tears stop. I'm speechless. He _loves_ me. I've been imprinted on. Happiness, more than I've ever felt, soars inside me. But there's no vampire around putting this feeling in there. This is all me. Paul looks down in disappointment.

"I see that this is…too much," he says quietly. I'm sorry." He turns.

"Paul," I say quietly. He looks up sadly, rejection on his face. "I just said I _loved_ you. What would make you think this is too much?"

His face breaks into a hopeful grin. He pulls me into a tight embrace. Then his finger is tilting up my chin. "Cara," he whispers. And then his lips take mine.

He is gentle with me, and I sense he's afraid to push me to hard. His lips are surprisingly soft, and before I know it I'm grabbing his hair, pulling him closer. His chest rumbles as he chuckles and pulls gently away. My face falls in disappointment.

Paul kisses my forehead, my cheeks, and quickly pecks my lips. "We have to get home, you silly girl. Don't think for a second that I actually _wanted_ to stop kissing you."

I grin like and idiot and hug Paul close to me. Suddenly I am being carried bridal-style through the woods and towards the house. We say nothing on the way back, and I am content with just staring at him. Too soon we are in Sam and Emily's yard, and Paul sets me down. Embry walks up to us.

"You're dad is here," he tells me. "He wants to talk to you." The next thing Embry says is aimed at Paul: "_Alone_."

Paul frowns at this. I smile and squeeze his hand. "Go on inside. I'll be right there." Paul relents and goes in. Embry leads me into the backyard, where Dad is sitting on a swing, staring off into the distance.

"Don't worry," Embry says. "Jacob will stay out here with you guys. Just in case." I nod then walk up to my father. He still looks a little shocked.

"What all did Sue tell you?" I ask.

He looks at me. "_Everything_. Even about Paul." I look at the ground when he says this. "And don't worry, Cara. You say the word and we'll leave."

I gape at my father. "Wait, so you don't want to leave?" I am shocked at this.

He sighs. "This is a lot to absorb, but I do know one thing: I love Sue, honey, and I want to stay with her no matter what. But if you want to leave, then we will."

Once again, I'm grinning like and idiot. "Trust me Dad, I want to stay."

He stands, his face full of relief, and hugs me tightly. "Good." Then he pulls away with a grave expression. "But I will have to meet this Paul guy. Make sure he passes my inspection and everything…"

I sigh and laugh. "Sure dad, whatever you say. Now come on, lets go in."

We wonder back to the front porch. My dad walks in, but before I can, a hand is on my arm, pulling me away from the door. I open my mouth the scream but a large warm hand covers it. "Shhh! It's just me, Jake." He lets go of me and now I can see his sheepish expression in the darkness. "I just wanted to…apologize for earlier today. I shouldn't have suggested the whole bait thing. I really didn't mean it. I was just…mad that Paul imprinted on you. I was jealous, I guess. It seems everyone is finding love, but not me."

I take Jake's hand. "It's okay, Jacob. I forgive you. And I know you'll find someone to one day." He smiles sadly at this. "Besides," I add, "I'm just glad you don't hate me like Leah does."

Jake sighed. "Leah doesn't hate you…she's…jealous of you."

I scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"No really, she is jealous. I know from her thoughts when we are wolves. You have everything she wants. You're a normal human, and you have Paul."

I gasp. "Leah loves _Paul_?!"

He shakes his head quickly. "No, no! I'm just saying you have someone that loves you." He then tells me about Leah and Sam's relationship before Emily. I feel bad for my stepsister. "Try to give her a break," Jacob says, "She just needs time."

I nod my head. "Okay." I suddenly really want Paul to hold me. "Lets go inside now."

**Please review!!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Once again, thanks for all who've reviewed! Which I think was a grand total of one for this time. :( I still don't own anything…**

**By the way, I found this actor who I picture as Paul. His name is Eddie Spears. (No relation to Britney P ) Just go to youtube and type in Eddie Spears. There are some good slideshows with him...**

We walk back into Emily's house and see Paul talking with my father. _Oh great_, I think. I can only wonder what mortifying things my father is saying…

They finish their conversation with a handshake, and then Paul solemnly turns and sees me. His face erupts in an ecstatic smile. He is instantly at my side, his arm sliding around my waist, pressing me against him.

"What took you so long?" he murmurs into my ear.

"Oh, I was just talking with Jacob," I say, putting as much nonchalance into my voice as I could. It doesn't work very well. Paul begins to tremble slightly. "What did he say to you?" he asks darkly.

I cup his face with my hands and look into his eyes. "He apologized to me for earlier." The trembling stops. Paul looks at Jacob, surprised. "Did he really? I'm shocked…"

I lightly kiss Paul's cheek. "I'm not. I have faith in Jacob. I think we're going to be good friends."

Before Paul can answer, Emily announces that dinner is ready. It's an incredibly hectic event; I barely make it out of the kitchen with any food. It passes by quickly too. Everyone is talking and laughing. Emily was right. It _does_ feel like one big family.

I see my dad and Sue get up. "I think it's time for us to head home," Sue announces. I groan inwardly. That means I'll have to leave Paul…

"Uh, is it okay if I come Sue?" My heart leaps when Paul asks this. And it leaps higher when Sue says yes. We pile into Dad's SUV, Sue and Dad in the front, Seth in the middle, and Paul and me in the back. Leah stays because she is on patrol for Lucian tonight.

We make it home, and everyone gathers into the small living room to watch television. Paul sits on the floor, and I sit in his lap. We silently watch T.V. Well, actually we mostly watch each other. We just happen to be in front of a T.V. After awhile though, I can't stop the yawn that escapes from my mouth. Paul chuckles and stands, with me in his arms. "I think it's time Cara went to bed," Paul tells Sue and Dad. They nod and say their goodnights, and Paul carries me into my room. I have to agree with him. I'm exhausted.

He walks to the empty bed and moves the suitcase off of the bed, pulling the covers back, with one arm while holding me in the other. He then lays me down and to my surprise, tucks me in tightly. He kisses my forehead. "Goodnight Cara." He begins to walk away.

With growing panic I yank my arms free of the covers and grab his hand. He turns and looks at me with a small smile of confusion. "Where are you going?" I ask softly.

"I'm going out on patrol tonight. I'll be back before you wake up." He begins to pull away but I sit up and hold on tight to his hand. I can feel the panic seizing me. I'm afraid that Lucian might come back. "Can't you stay?" I can't imagine how pathetic I sound

He sighs. "You don't know how much I want to. But I have to go. I have to go find that monster. I have to protect you."

Now I'm standing and moving to the door, blocking it. "It would be easier to protect me if you were in the same room as me," I insist. I know I'm being immature, but I need him to stay.

He ignores my logic and lifts me off of the ground, moving me away from the door. He begins to leave again and a small voice in the back of my head says that he's trying to get away. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe I'm not his imprint. It's this voice that compels me to whisper, "Don't you want me?"

Paul in instantly at my side, holding my face in his hands and kissing every part of it- my eyelids, my cheeks, my nose, and finally, my lips. "Don't ever say that," he whispers. "Don't even think it. I will _always_ want you. I would _die_ for you, Cara."

I avoid his gaze. I realize now that I was being ridiculous for thinking he didn't want me. But still, I _needed_ him to stay. "Please, Paul," I whimper. Then I finally admit it: "I'm afraid to be here by myself."

He says nothing. I look up, and his eyes are filled with worry and remorse. He lifts me again and carries me to the bed, but this time, he lies down with me still in his arms. "How about," he whispered in my ear, "I stay until you fall asleep. Then I'll go on patrol, and Seth will be right down the hall if you need him." I'm about to interrupt until I hear the next part: "Then tomorrow I'll talk to your father about letting you stay with me and Jared for awhile."

I turn and look at him. "Are you serious? That would be so wonderful…" Just thinking about it excited me. Just me and Paul, living together…I want to go to sleep now just to make the night go by faster.

He laughed. "I was hoping you'd say that."

I turn and kiss his cheek. "Thank you. Now I'll be a good girl and go to sleep." I'm about to snuggle deep into the covers but Paul stops me. "Don't I get a kiss goodnight?" he asks.

Before I can answer he is cupping my cheek and kissing me. But this time, he isn't so gentle. And he doesn't pull away when I pull him closer. He lets out a low groan and moves so that I am lying with him on top of me. His hand moves to behind my waist, pulling me so that I'm pressed against him. When I feel his tongue trace slowly along my bottom lip I gasp and pull away, breathless. So is Paul, from the looks of it.

"I'm sorry," he says quickly. "I didn't mean to move too fast."

I shake my head, trying to explain without telling him my secret. "You weren't going to fast. It just…surprised me, that's all."

He nods. "I see. Well, it's good you pulled away. Because you're exhausted, I can tell. It's time to sleep now." He kisses my lips quickly and moves so he's lying next to me instead of on top of me. I snuggle into the covers while Paul drapes his arm across my stomach. It's easy to fall asleep tonight with his warmth and his scent flowing around me. And when I dream, I dream of a beautiful silver wolf, protecting me in the night.

**Ooh! Suspense! What is Cara's secret?**

**Yes, I know it's short. But more will be coming soon. Please please PLEASE review!**


	9. Chapter 9

Ok, I still don't own anything. I know how shocking this is… 

**By the way, don't get too excited about Cara's secret. It's not **_**bad**_**…just embarrassing. For her I mean…**

I yawn loudly and stretch. Part of me still expects to see Paul lying next to me. The other part is trying to convince me that it was all a weird dream. I sit up and look down. Nope, it wasn't a dream. I'm still in Emily's clothes. I walk over to the mirror and smooth out my hair. Then I dig through my suitcase, which I still need to unpack, and pull out my toothbrush and some toothpaste, which are in a Ziploc bag. I begin to creep down the hall, but then I hear voices, and Seth's chortling from the direction of the kitchen. _Hmm, it must be later than I thought_. I walk into the bathroom and brush my teeth, removing all traces of my morning breath.

I walk into the kitchen and gasp. Everyone is in there: Leah, Seth, Sue, Dad…and Paul. As soon I see Paul I can feel my face light up. "Morning Sleepyhead," my dad teases, ruffling my hair. "You missed breakfast."

I look at the clock above the stove. "Noon! I didn't know I slept that long…"

Sue laughs. "Paul's been bothering us to let him wake you up since about eight-thirty. I thought I was going to have to duct tape his mouth! Not like that really would have helped…" Paul's face reddens slightly but he says nothing. He just stares at me with such longing that I found myself blushing too.

My father takes notice of this. He clears his throat and I direct my attention back to him, trying to ignore how much I just want to run to Paul. "Actually, Paul was discussing some…relocation ideas he had for you."

It takes me a moment to understand what he's saying. Then I remember Paul's promise from last night: _Then tomorrow I'll talk to your father about letting you stay with me and Jared for awhile._ "Really?" I say with indifference. "And what do you think about that?"

"Well, I thought it wasn't a good idea…" I can feel disappointment seep into me. "…but then I talked to Sam on the phone and he said it probably would be safer for you, so…I decided you can."

Without thinking I shriek and jump into my dad's arms. "Thank you thank you thank you Daddy!" He laughs and says, "Go on. Go get your suitcase. Which I'm sure you haven't unpacked yet…"

I grin. "You know me too well dad." I walk into my room, quickly change into a pair of my jeans and a green sweater, and zip up the suitcase. A throat clears, and I turn, expecting it to be Paul. It's dad.

"Um, Sue and I are going out to the grocery. I made Paul promise that you and he would eat here for dinner every night, so I'll see you later."

I hug him. "Thanks, Dad, for trusting us, and everything."

He clears his throat again. "Actually, that's what I came in hear for. Do you love Paul as much as he apparently loves you?"

I pause. "Yeah, I do."

"And what about you and Daren?"  
I wince. "There is no me and Daren anymore, Dad. We broke up at the bonfire."

Dad clears his throat again. "Oh. Well, I know you may…uh…_feel_ things when

you're around Paul…"

I groan in mortification. "Dad, you are _not_ giving me the sex talk! I know okay? Me and mom talked about it when I first started dating Daren." Okay, that was a lie, but anything to stop him from this…

It works. Once again he clears his throat. "Oh. Well I just wanted to make

sure…"

"Yeah, dad, whatever. Just go now. I'll be fine."

Dad nods and leaves. I don't dare leave my room until I hear his car back out of the driveway. I didn't want to risk him changing his mind and finishing his speech.

When I walk into the family room, dragging my suitcase, Paul is looking through a box of home movies we brought. "Hmmm, 'Cara's Sixth Birthday,' 'First Day of School,' and what's this? 'School Musical'? You sing?"

I nod. "I used to. That was a musical from last winter. We did _Beauty and the Beast_. I was Belle. It was pretty fun."

Paul nods and holds onto the tape. "We're watching this when we get home."

I sigh. This will be embarrassing…"Well, let's go and get that over with," I mutter.

Paul laughs and takes the suitcase out of my hands, easily lifting it with one hand, and guides me outside, taking my hand in his. Outside was a rundown Jeep. He put my suitcase in the back and lifted me in. He began to buckle me up but I stopped him. "You're spoiling me…I can buckle myself you know," I tease.

He grins and kisses my forehead. "I like spoiling you. And I'm allowed to. Comes with the imprinting." Before I can protest, he is walking around to the driver's side and starting the Jeep. The engine is deafening, making any sort of conversation impossible. Luckily the ride is short, and soon we're pulling into a dirt driveway. The house is small, much smaller than Sue's, but I instantly like it.

Before I even realize Paul was out of the car, he is at my side, opening the door for me. "I know it's small," he begins, "But me and Jared got it for free. It was falling apart, and the owner thought he was going to have to tear it down, so he gave to us so it'd be our problem. But we fixed it up and now it's pretty decent."

I beam at him. "I love it already. But why do you guys live here? What about your parents?"

Paul looks away. "Jared's parents were wanting him to go to Princeton and all of that, so when he turned into a werewolf for the first time, they tried to make him leave the pack and go to a boarding school right outside of Princeton. But he wouldn't, and they kicked him out."

I gasped. "That's awful…what about you?"

He laughed bitterly. "I've been a disappointment to my parents since I was about twelve. I got into trouble a lot, and they gave up on me. One night I came home after a party and the locks on all the doors had been changed. I stayed with Jared until he got kicked out, and then we found this place." Bitterness was still in his face.

I put my hand on his cheek. "I'm sorry," I said softly. "I shouldn't have asked." He turns his head and kisses my hand. "Don't be. I knew it would come up eventually. I don't really care anymore. Come on, let's just go in."

We go inside, and Paul gives me the grand tour. There's a living room with a bar separating it from the small kitchen. He leads me down a hall with three four doors. He goes down the line of them: "In there is Jared's room, and this is the bathroom. You'll have to share it with Jared and me. Next is my room, and the last one is the guest room, which is your room now."

We pass Paul's room without going in and step into my room. It was clearly decorated by a guy. The walls are a navy blue, and the bed is covered with a black quilt. There is a wooden dresser and a small wooden desk. A small door is next to the dresser and I assume it leads to a closet. It will definitely take some getting used to, but I am happy to be here. It means I get to be with Paul. I turn and kiss him lightly on the lips. I pull away before it can get deep, and I see the disappointment on Paul's face.

"I love the room, Paul. It's great."

The disappointment is still there. "Yeah, thanks."

I sigh. "Paul, don't do that. It's…complicated, okay?"

He looks at me. "Then tell me! I'm not a mind reader, Cara. I don't know what I'm doing wrong!" he says in desperation.

I wrap my arms around him and hug him tightly. "You haven't done anything wrong. I just need some time, okay?"

Paul hesitates, then hugs me back. We pull away, and a soft smile is on his lips. "I'm going to go take a shower, okay? Help yourself to anything in the house." His smile grows. "After I get out, of course, we're watching your play."

I groan. "Okay, but if you go deaf, don't blame me…"

Paul rolls his eyes and walks into the bathroom laughing. I sigh when the door closes. _Now what do I do?_ I walk into the living room and flip on the television. After flipping for a few minutes, I give up and leave it on the Weather Channel. Then I spot something on the ground. I gasp. It's just what I need. A laptop. I quickly grab it and click on the Internet icon. The computer begins to slowly connect. When it finally boots up, I go to Google and begin searching. Within minutes I find what I need:

**How to French Kiss: A step-by-step guide**

I sigh. If Paul knew my secret, that I don't know how to French, I would die of embarrassment. I mean, I've kissed before. But Daren was my only boyfriend, and he always told me that making out would destroy his "muse." I'm not sure what that had to do with kissing, but I didn't push it.

But, what if I tried to kiss him, really kiss him, and I was bad? Not just bad, but really terrible? Could someone un-imprint?

As I sat there worrying and not reading the website, a voice behind me said, "What are you looking at?"

I gasp and turn around. Paul was standing behind me, in a pair of worn jeans, his hair wet. Little droplets of water clung to his bare chest. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Seriously though, what are you doing?"

"I was just-I mean I was looking for this-nothing, it was nothing." I stammer.

He looks confused for a moment, and then a devilish grin reaches his features. _Oh God, he thinks I'm kidding around…_I know what he's going to do. "Paul, seriously, don't…"

It's too late. Before I can finish, he's snatched the laptop away. "I'm ashamed with you, sneaking around on _my_ computer…" he teases, and then he lifts up the screen and sees the website. His face goes from shock to confusion to concern in about three seconds. I feel my face heating up in a blush. I feel absolutely _mortified_. Tears of humiliation fill my eyes and threaten to spill.

"What is this?" Paul asks softly, and suddenly he is in front of me, lifting up my chin so I'm looking at him in the eyes. That did it. The tears spill over and suddenly I'm sobbing, completely humiliated at what I know I am going to have to admit now.

"Cara honey, shh…" Paul pulls me onto the couch and into his lap. I hide my face in his chest and cry pitifully. Paul rubs my back and lets me cry for a few minutes. "What is it Cara?" he asks finally.

I sniffle and begin talking, hiding my face in his chest. "It's just that I've never…made out with a guy before, so I…" I can't finish.

"Go ahead Cara. Yo don't have to be embarrassed." Paul says, and continues rubbing my back in soothing circles.

Finally, the crying subsides. "Well, I was afraid that I'd be a bad kisser so I thought that I'd just read about how to do it before you got out of the shower." I'm still hiding my face in his chest. I feel Paul stiffen. He lifts up my face, gingerly wiping the tears off of my face.

"Are you saying that's why you pulled away last night? And today? You were afraid of being a bad kisser?"

It sounds so stupid when he says it. I nod. "I was worried that you might…I don't know, imprint off of me or something. Go for someone better." Rosalie's face flashes in my mind. I bet she's a good kisser…

"Imprint…off of you…?" Paul is shaking, and at first I think he's mad. But when I look at him closer, I see that he's laughing. I hit him hard on the chest, which only makes my hand ache. "It's not funny!" I snap, tears about to come out again. I try to think of a time I've been more embarrassed. I can't.

The laughing immediately stops. "No, it's not." There's a new determination in his eyes. I realize what he's about to do, and I shake my head. "No, Paul. I can't. I don't know how…" I attempt to get off of him, but his arms are a cage around me. "Stop over thinking it, Cara." He says huskily. He cups my face and slowly his lips meet mine.

It starts off gentle, like the first kiss we shared. But soon Paul is pulling me closer, and I can't help but to melt into him. He pulls away and kisses my forehead, then my chin, and then my nose. Then his lips meet mine again. His hand goes to the back of my neck, keeping me close to him. Once again, his tongue slowly traces my lips. An electric current surges through me, and before I know it my lips are parting. Paul seizes the opportunity and his tongue slips in, exploring my mouth and gently stroking my tongue. Soon, an impulse takes over me, and I know what to do. I can feel my own tongue search his mouth, then meet his tongue in an exotic dance.

Paul pulls away, panting. His eyes are dark again. "God, Cara," he murmurs, "You are beautiful."

I'm not finished. I pull him back to me and kiss him, pouring all of my heart into it. _I love you_. Paul's fingers lightly caress my face, making me shiver. We pull away again, and Paul lies across the couch, with me on top of him.

"And you were afraid you'd be bad." Paul scoffs as he says this.

"Was I okay?" I ask.

"You were absolutely _perfect_."

"You weren't _too_ bad yourself," I kid. "Even though I don't really have anything to compare it with…"

Paul narrows his eyes playfully. Then he sits up abruptly. "I almost forgot," he says, "about the video."

I bury my face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent. "Do we really have to watch it?" I murmur. "I mean, I know something I'd rather do…" I kiss his neck softly.

I feel him inhale sharply. Then he shakes his head quickly. "Nope." He states. "You're not going to get out of this _that_ easily…" He moves me so I am sitting on the couch and grabs the tape, sitting on the T.V. I remember when we got it. The movie production class had filmed the musical, and was selling tapes of it. Of course my dad just _had_ to buy it, since I played the role of Belle.

Paul starts the video then sits on the couch next to me, putting his arm around me. As soon as I see myself walk on the stage, I bury my face in my hands. I've never actually watched the video, and I probably sound terrible. Then I hear the familiar sound of my singing. _Hmm, not too bad…_It's not my best, but it's still pretty good. I steal a glance at Paul, and he is gazing at the screen in awe, completely mesmerized. I smile, happy that he seems to like it.

We watch the whole play in silence. I watch Paul's expression for the most part, and it remains the same throughout the play: that look of wonderment on his face. The ending finally comes, and I stand and stop the movie. "So," I say. "What'd you think?"

He looks at me with the same expression of awe that he'd had the whole movie. "I've never heard such a beautiful voice," he says sincerely. "But why did you quit?"

I look down. "Singing had always been my mom's idea. So when she left us, it reminded me of her too much. And my father. He said that he loved my singing, but I could tell it hurt to be reminded of Mom."

Paul wraps his arms around me gently, and I lean into him, accepting the comfort he is offering. We stand there for a while, until a door slams open and Jared saunters out of his room, yawning. "Oh, hey Cara," he mumbles, sounding like he is still half asleep. "Hey, do we have anything to eat Paul?"

Paul shrugs. "I don't know. But I _am _pretty hungry…"

I shake my head at them. Living with them would definitely be interesting. "I'll make something," I offer. Both Jared and Paul look at me gratefully. I walk into the kitchen and look in the refrigerator. There is some cheese that is molding, and a jug of milk. I check the expiration date, already pretty sure of what I was going to see. Just as I thought; it had expired three weeks ago. Closing the refrigerator, I check all the cabinets. I come across some canned green beans, a box of Lucky Charms, and a dead spider the size of my hand.

I look at the two in amazement. "How do you two survive? You have _no _food whatsoever."

Jared shrugs. "We just go to Sam and Emily's and eat their food."

I roll my eyes. "Okay then. That's going to change. C'mon, we're going to the store." The both grimace like the word "store" is foreign to them. Then Jared shakes his head. "As much as I'd _love_ to go, I can't. Kim's in there asleep."

Paul looks just about as surprised as I am. "Kim's here?" he asks. "I thought her mom wouldn't let her…"

"Well when I told her there was a bloodsucker coming after someone in _La Push_ instead of in Forks, she changed her mind. She was asleep when I took her though. So she's gonna have no clue what's going on when she wakes up."

As if on cue, Kim wandered out in a tank top and sweatpants, looking disheveled and confused. "Jared…?" she asks groggily. Jared rushes to her and leads her back into his room, shutting the door behind him.

I shrug and turn to Paul. "Well, let's go," I say.

He sighs dramatically. "Do we _have_ to?" he asks in a pained voice. "I'm not even _that _hungry…I can wait until dinner…"

I kiss him sweetly on the lips. And shake my head. "Nope. We're going."

**Hmm…not sure if I like this chapter…but I won't no if it sucked or not unless you REVIEW!!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, this chapter is pretty short. Sorry! But more will come soon! Thanks to all who review!**

**Still don't own anything…**

Paul parks his Jeep and we walk hand-in-hand to the store. There is a sign posted on the entrance: _No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service_. I look at Paul, who is wearing neither. "Hmm, looks like someone's going to have to wait in the car."

Paul looks put out. "Are you sure you don't need me to go in with you?"

I roll my eyes and kiss him on the cheek. "I'm positive. I've got plenty of money and I know exactly what I need to get. I'll only be a few minutes, okay?" Paul nods his head and saunters back to the car.

I walk inside the grocery and begin filling a shopping cart with the basics: milk, eggs, bread, flour, sugar, spices, and some junk food. I make my way to the meat section and pick up a few packages of steak. I know all of the food would be gone with the way Paul and Jared eat. But it was a start.

I begin to walk towards the register when a boy stops in front of the cart, blocking my way. He looks to be about my age. He runs his hand through his short blonde hair. "Hey," he says to me, overconfidence dripping from his voice. "Don't think I've seen you here before. Are you new around here?"

I smile, trying to be polite, though I can already feel annoyance seeping into me. "Yeah I am. And I'm really busy, so if you wouldn't mind moving…"

He ignored my request. "My names Greg. You know, since your new, I could show you around the town. I don't mean La Push, of course. I live in Forks. It's much better there. Hey, if you're lucky, I might even take you to a movie in Port Angeles some time." He flashed me a pretty-boy smile.

I suppose he is waiting for me to swoon and tell him how absolutely _lovely_ it would be to go to Port Angeles with him. But instead my smile disappears and I look at him in irritation. "That's very thoughtful of you," I say with exasperation in my voice, "but I'd rather not."

His smile also leaves his face. "I don't think you get what a chance I'm giving you, to let _me_ take _you_ out."

"And I don't think _you _get how much you're annoying me." I ram my cart into him, but he catches onto it and won't let go.

Suddenly a hand is on my shoulder, gently pushing me back. "Is there a problem here?" Paul moves me so that I'm behind his shaking form. I catch a glance at his face, and it's furious.

Greg gives Paul a condescending look at what he seems to view as competition. "Nothing that is any of your business," he says contemptuously. "My girlfriend and I are just having a few issues."

Paul snorts angrily. "I find that funny," he spits, "considering she's _my_ girlfriend."

A girl steps up next to me and taps Paul on the shoulder. She looks like she is a few years younger than us, and she is wearing the store uniform. "Um, excuse me sir, but you have to wear a shirt to be in the store…"

Paul whips around and glares at the girl. She pales, terrified, and backs away. I look at Paul with disapproval. "Paul, calm down. She didn't do anything."

He turns and glares at me, his body still trembling. "Go pay for what you need and meet me outside," he orders brusquely.

I gape at him, shocked he would order me around like that. But before I can reply, Greg speaks. "It's probably a good thing she's taken," he sneers. "I probably would've wasted my cash on a date and still wouldn't have gotten any from her."

Paul snarls and grabs Greg, slamming him into a shelf and knocking cans over. "You're going to regret saying that," he growls. Paul pulls a fist back, preparing to punch him. I rush and grabs Paul's fist. "Paul, stop it! You're going to lose control!"

Paul ignores me and shakes of my grip. Suddenly a man walks up angrily. "What seems to be the trouble, gentleman?" He asks. He also is wearing a uniform, and I assume he is the manager. "Whatever it is, I suggest you take it away from my store or I'll be forced to call the authorities."

Paul grudgingly lets go of Greg, who stumbles away, and then looks at me. "I'll meet you outside," he mutters, and walks out of the store. I shakily push my cart to a register. While the cashier scans everything, I think about what just happened. And I am furious. Paul acted just like he did in the woods that first time I saw him. How dare he just shrug me off like that? _He was just trying to watch over you, Cara_, I think to myself. But it doesn't pacify me.

I carry the bags to the Jeep and toss them in. Paul is already in the Jeep, and he looks at me warily when I climb in. "Cara-," he begins.

I glare at him. "Just drive."

The ride back is tense. I still feel so angry about the incident in the store. We pull up to the house and Paul comes to open the door. He begins to unbuckle me but I slap his hands away and do it myself. I begin to walk to the house but Paul gently grabs my arm and pulls me over to him. "What is it?" he asks, and he looks genuinely confused. I jerk my arm away. "I can't believe what you did back there in that store Paul!"

His eyes narrow and he looks at me defensively. "What do you mean? Did you hear what he said about you?! Like I'm just going to let that slide…"

"Paul, I've lived in the city my _whole life_. I'm used to jerks! And most of them aren't so subtle about what they want from me! I know how to take care of myself!"

Paul grabs my shoulders. "Cara, that was before you had a werewolf imprint on you. I'm not just going to sit there and let someone disrespect you like he did."

I pull away again. "Well guess what Paul? That boy wasn't the only one in there who was disrespecting people! You stormed in and just ordered me around like you _own_ me, and then you just shook me off when I tried to calm you down! And don't even get me started on how you terrified that poor girl just trying to do her job…"

Paul looked at me in exasperation. "Cara, honey, I freak out easily. That's who I am! And I was just trying to protect you! I don't understand how that makes you mad."

I shake my head. "Then I guess you don't know me very well, do you?"

Paul opens his mouth to answer, then closes it, defeated. "I think I'm going for a run," he says softly, his head down. "Just go on to dinner with Sue and your Dad. I'll probably be late."

I instantly feel bad for fighting with Paul. I walk up to him and grab his arm. "Paul, don't. Let's talk about this. Don't leave, please."

Paul takes my hand and gently moves it off of his shoulder. "Don't wait up for me." And he is jogging into the woods, shuddering.

I stand there staring after Paul for a few minutes. Then I walk numbly into the house, passing Kim and Jared, and into my room.

I'm able to shut the door firmly before I break down.

**Please Review!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I know! I'm updating early! **

**Okay, not really **_**that**_** early, but still…**

**I might not be able to update this weekend though. I'll try though. And sorry if it seems like my updates have been getting shorter. It's been very stressful around here…But enough of me talking (especially since I bet a lot of you skip the author's note anyway) :)**

**Still don't own anything… **

I lay across my bed, my body shaking with sobs. What have I done? Leave it to me to get into a fight with my soul mate…

I hear the door creak open, but I don't look at it. If it isn't Paul, then I really don't care who it is. Two surprisingly small arms wrap around me, hugging me tightly and willing me to sit up. I open my eye and see Kim.

"Hey Cara," she says sympathetically. "Don't worry; I sent Jared out to talk to Paul."

I bury my face into her shoulder. "I don't understand!" I sob. "How could I possibly fight with the guy who's supposed to be my soul mate?! What is that saying about me?"

Kim shakes her head, smiling kindly. "That's not how it works, Cara. Just because you two are imprints and made for each other doesn't mean you have a fluffy little relationship without any conflicts. People fight, regardless of whether or not they were made for each other. Lucky for us, we make up with each other a lot faster than _normal_ couples."

I look up and smile weakly. "Really?"

"Of course. One bad part of course is that it feels about a hundred times worse to fight with an imprint than it would with a normal boyfriend. Or at least that's how it feels to me when Jared and I get into a fight."

I nod. "I know exactly what you mean. It feels like you've been split apart; half of you is gone and you won't be pieced back together until he comes back."

"Exactly. And don't worry about Paul; he gets upset really easily. Just give him a little time to blow off some steam and let Jared talk some sense into him."

I nod and sniffle. "Okay."

Kim looks at me with a hint of concern. "Hey, how about I go call Sue and tell her that you're not feeling well and won't make it to dinner? I know you and Paul are supposed to eat with them every night but I'll tell her you're sleeping."

I smile gratefully at Kim. "Thank you so much; that would be great." Then I blush, embarrassed that I completely vented on Kim when we've only really just met. "Um, sorry I kind of let all of that out on you."

Kim shakes her head. "The same thing happened with me, only it was Emily doing all the comforting." She then walks out the door and I can hear her dialing a phone. Instead of sitting in my room, I decide to wait for Paul in his room.

His room is small, smaller than mine, and the walls are painted a forest-green. There is a small full sized bed with a brown quilt covering it in the corner. The only other things in the room are a chest of drawers, a small desk with a digital clock resting on it, and a window. I lat down in the bed and snuggle into the covers. They smell just like him. I close my eyes and take in the scent, pretending that Paul's with me. I hear thunder rumbling and soon rain is pattering on the window. _Come home Paul_, I will silently. _Come home to me._

I hear Kim calling my name. "Cara? Where are you?"

"I'm in here!"

Kim walks in with a worried look on her face. "Emily called right after I got off the phone with Sue." She sighed. "Apparently while Paul and Jared were out they picked up a fresh trail so now everyone's out following it. They hope to find Lucian and finish him today. So they may be awhile."

I am afraid to speak; I know if I open my mouth I'll probably go into hysterics. So I nod my head instead. Kim gestures to the bed. "Mind if I sit?" I shrug and finally say something, "Sure." She sits and looks at me. "I know you're worried," she says softly, "but have faith in them. They know what they're doing. They'll be fine."

I nod, unsure if I believe her. In an attempt to take my mind off of it, I ask Kim, "So what do you think about all of this? Imprinting and werewolves, I mean."

Kim sighs wistfully. "I think it's terribly _romantic_. I mean, I never would have thought I'd be lucky enough to find such a true, irrevocable love like this. It's incredible."

"Did you know Jared before he imprinted?" I ask.

Kim nodded, gazing off and remembering. "Sort of. I mean, we had been in the same classes for a few years, and I had always had this enormous crush on him. It was pretty bad. And he had no idea I even existed." She wraps her arms around herself. "Then one day, he couldn't stop staring at me. Then he began talking to me. He wanted to know everything about me: my favorite color, favorite music, favorite food, biggest secrets… I was a pretty screwed up person when he imprinted on me…I was broken, I guess you could say." Kim smiled distantly. "But Jared fixed me. It was like part of me was missing my whole life and I didn't even notice until he came along. Then it was like I was finally complete." Kim blushed. "We've been inseparable ever since."

I look at Kim in amazement, for that's exactly how I felt with Paul. Like I was finally _whole_. "What do you mean, you were broken?" I ask in curiosity.

Kim looks away. "I don't really like talking about it," she whispers, and I can hear an undercurrent of pain in her voice.

I nod in understanding. "Its fine. I understand."

We sit there in silence for a few moments, and then Kim gets up. "Well, it's getting a little late," she says. "I think I'm gonna go in Jared's room and read a book or something."

I nod. "Okay. Maybe I'll just go to sleep. Hopefully it'll make the time pass more quickly."

Kim walks out, shutting the light, and I lay in the bed, still taking in Paul's scent. I close my eyes, willing myself to sleep. But it seems sleep will never come. I can still hear the pouring rain taping at the window. I peer at the clock. _7:00 P.M._ At this rate, I'll go crazy before Paul gets back…I shut my eyes again and empty my mind of all thoughts except sleep.

_8:00…_

_…9:00…_

_…10:00…_

At 11 o'clock I hear the front door open and footsteps heavily stomp into the door. "Jared!" I hear Kim exclaim. "Did you guys find him?"

"No, we lost his trail before we could catch up to him," Jared replies.

"Where's Cara?" I smile. It's Paul asking, and I can hear the worry in his voice.

"She's asleep. But she's been waiting for you, Paul. Just wait to talk to her until morning."

I hear Paul sigh and then footsteps come near the door. I quickly stand, smoothing my clothes out and patting my hair down. Paul opens the door and doesn't see me at first. But then he flips the light on. When he sees me he freezes, looking shocked, happy, and upset all at once. He is soaking wet, which isn't surprising since it's _still_ raining. My breath catches as I look at him, beads of water dripping from his hair and down his chest.

Without saying anything, I sprint to him, and he catches me with his arms. "Cara, Cara, Cara," he keeps whispering into my ear. "Cara honey I'm so sorry."

I put my hand over his mouth. "Shh…don't be. I understand that you were trying to protect me. I overreacted. I'm the one who should be sorry." I move my hand from his lips and replace it with my mouth. Paul sighs and lifts me up, still kissing me. I wrap my legs around his waist, latching myself onto him. Too soon he pulls away. "I guess we should both be sorry," he says. "It was a stupid fight."

I nod solemnly. "Just please, don't leave me again like that," I whisper. "I don't care how mad we are, just don't leave me. I…I wouldn't be able to stand it, I don't think."

Paul's eyes flash with pain. "I'll never leave you again," he promises. "It hurt me just as much. And I don't want to be away from you again. And I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take so long coming back. But we found the bloodsucker's trail and I had to-,"

"I know," I interrupt. "Kim told me. It's alright. I'm just glad that you're okay." I finally unlatch myself from his waist. "I'm gonna go change. But…" _God I can't believe I'm asking this…_ "Do you think I could sleep in here? With you?"

Paul looks pleasantly surprised. "I don't think anything would make me happier. But just to warn you: I snore."

I grin and roll my eyes. "I think I'll survive."

**Don't worry, I posted two chapters this time! And also just to let you know I'm planning on starting a Jared/Kim story, so that's why I put in the whole "I was broken and he healed me" and the "I don't want to talk about it" parts. Just a little preview…**


	12. Chapter 12

I grab my pajamas, hairbrush, and toothbrush out of my suitcase and go into the bathroom. It too is small, and it is littered with…guy stuff. Dandruff shampoo, shaving cream, razors, outdoor magazines…it was a mess. _Seems like I'll be doing some cleaning tomorrow,_ I think fondly. I pull my clothes off and change into my pajamas, a black tank top and Spongebob Squarepants boxers. I quickly brush my teeth and my hair, then decide to leave the toothbrush and hairbrush on the sink counter. I'll be living here, after all…

I toss my dirty clothes back into my room and then head back to Paul's room. He is lounging on the bed, staring at the ceiling when I walk in. He sees me and I can hear him inhale sharply, and gaze at me, starting at my face and ending at the boxers. I blush. "I know, the boxers are lame…" I begin.

Paul shakes out of his reverie and smiles, looking embarrassed. "Actually, I was thinking they make you look…_sexy_."

My face gets even redder. "Oh-I-," I can't even form a complete sentence.

Paul shakes his head, chuckling. In a flash he is standing in front of me, holding my face gently with his hands. He kisses me sweetly on the lips. Soon I am pressing myself against him. He lets go of my face, wrapping his arms around me and holding me as tight to him as he can without hurting me. This time I make the first move. I poke my tongue from my lips and, hesitantly, brush it against his lower lip. Paul growls and suddenly he's not so gentle any more. Suddenly I am slammed into a wall, pressed in between the wall and Paul, and his tongue takes complete control of my mouth. His hands begin running up and down my sides, memorizing the shape of me. I feel dizzy from the way he's making me feel. I shiver, even though I feel so…warm. Heat is spreading through all of my body. I pull away, gasping. "Paul…" I pant, but I'm not sure why I said his name…

He's not done with me though. With another growl he picks me up and rushes to the bed, straddling me. But instead of going back to my neck, like I thought he would, he kisses my jaw tenderly. Then he moves down to my neck, to the same place where Lucian had left his mark, which has almost faded completely. "Ugh, I can still smell the bloodsucker here," he mutters huskily. "But I can fix that…"

He begins kidding that spot gently, and I figure out what he's planning on doing. "Paul!" I gasp, shocked. "You're not going to-,"

"_He _needs to know," he growls roughly, and I know he's talking about Lucian. "I want everyone to know! You belong to _me_."

I feel a rush of pleasure when he says this. Then I see his eyes, and I know he won't do anything without my permission. My heart swelling with love, I nod my head. I know that Paul would never hurt me, but I can't help but remember what Lucian tried to do, and I feel nervous. Paul senses this and kisses my forehead. "I won't hurt you Cara," he whispers. He bents his head down and kisses my neck again. He continues this, and I can't believe I ever thought Lucian brought me pleasure.

Suddenly Paul's tongue flicked out onto my neck, and I can't stop the moan that escapes from my mouth. I arch my head back, giving him more access to my neck. His mouth latches onto it and be begins sucking, gently. I shudder involuntarily. I feel him bite down gently and I gasp, my body tingling. He continues to bite and suck and I can feel the blood in my throat rise up towards the skin, but not breaking it. Paul leans back and looks at what I'm sure is a giant hickey. I sigh and pull him close to me again.

"I love you," I whisper into his ear.

He pulls back and a smile pulls at his lips. He moves so he is beside me instead of on me. I whimper at the lost contact. He chuckles huskily, and I can see that his eyes are slightly glazed over with complete adoration. "I don't want to move too fast," he says quietly.

I pout. "I didn't think you were."

"I know. You don't understand how hard it was to stop and not to …" he trails off, looking guilty.

"Not to what?" I know what he's thinking, but I want to hear him say it.

He glares at me. "You know exactly what."

I smile. "Yeah, but I want you to say it."

He sighs, and looks guilty again. "Not to…" he seems to struggle for a word. "…Not to…_deflower_ you."

I look at him for a moment, and then I burst out laughing. "_Deflower_ me?!" You sound like an old spinster woman!"

Paul's face reddens. "I couldn't think of any other way of saying it!" he says defensively. But soon he is laughing too. We both laugh until Paul is grabbing his stomach and tears are flowing out of my eyes. Then Paul abruptly gets serious. "I really thought about it though," he says seriously.

I can feel the heat enter me again. "And I probably would have let you," I murmur.

"And that's why I stopped. I want your first time to be special, and-,"

"Wait, _my _first time? Does that mean you've already…" I trail off.

Paul looks down. "Yeah. It does."

I look away too. I know he didn't know me then, but it still stings. "I see…"

Paul hugs me to him. "Please, don't think that has anything to do with you. If I could take it back, I would. Believe me."

I look at him. "When was it?"

He looks off. "It was my freshman year. I was only fourteen." I try not to let the shock and horror register on my face. "I had gotten invited to a huge party by this senior girl. One of the most popular girls in school. Every guy would've given an arm just to have her talk to him. So we were at this party, and she gets wasted. She was all over me, and then she led me into a spare room, and, well, you know the rest. The next day at school, she completely ignored me. And when I went to talk to you, all she said was, 'Who the hell are you?'"

I look at Paul's face, contorted with bitterness, and I kiss his cheek. "Oh Paul," I say with sadness, "I'm so sorry."

He laughed sourly. "After that, I became the school 'player.' I was the bad boy every girl wanted. And they all knew I was only after one thing. It was partially because of that one senior girl, but later on when we all began transforming, I did it just to show the guys who had imprinted what I thought they were missing out on. I never realized that they weren't the ones missing out. Not until I met you, at least."

I can't help but to smile at this. But I still feel jealousy seeping into me, so I don't say anything. Paul glances at me with worry. "You're angry," He says this as a statement instead of a question.

I look at him. "Not angry," I explain, "just…jealous." Paul shakes his head in amazement. "You're crazy, if you ever think I don't regret doing that," he says softly. "The only person I want now is you."

I grin. "Same here."

"But," he says solemnly, "I want to make it absolutely perfect. So we're waiting, okay?"

I sigh. "Alright, I guess so. But if I spontaneously combust, it's your fault."

He rolls his eyes. "Right." Then he glances at the clock. "It's past midnight," he observes. "I think it's time we went to sleep." He gets up and switches the light off. I feel the bed sink as he climbs back in and settles next to me. I snuggle into him as close as I can and close my eyes. He puts his arm around me. "Goodnight Cara."

"Goodnight Paul. I love you."

**Aww, so sweet! PLEASE let me know what you think!**

**And by the way, just some food for thought: There was some foreshadowing in this chapter. I would love to hear guesses about what it is!!!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, here's the next chapter. I'm almost done with the next one too so it should be up soon. Enjoy! And thanks to all who reviewed!**

I wake up disoriented. I have no idea where I am, but I'm burning up. It takes only a second to remember yesterday, and I smile. I begin to stretch, but an arm is trapping me. I roll over and see Paul, still sleeping, holding me against him. No wonder I'm so hot.

I squirm and twist, trying to get out of Paul's grasp. I quickly realize this won't work. "Paul," I whisper. No response. "Paul," I say louder, "wake up!" He still doesn't answer. I try to push away again. This time I hear a groan and Paul pulls me closer to him. "Paul! I'm going to have a stroke! Let go!" Paul grumbles incoherently and shakes his head. I sigh. "You are impossible," I mutter.

"I know," he mumbles groggily, a sleepy grin on his face. He opens his eyes. "Morning," he murmurs.

I smile. "Good morning." I kiss him quickly on the lips. "Sleep well?"

He sighed. "Better than I have in a long time…which is why I think we should continue." He shuts his eyes again, settling back into the pillow. I playfully hit him, knowing it won't hurt. "No way! We have work to do!"

He opens his eyes again, confused. "Work? What do you mean?"

I smile sweetly. "It's called spring-cleaning. And this place, no offense of course, needs it terribly."

"Spring cleaning," Paul repeats incredulously. "It's August, as in the end of summer."

I narrow my eyes. "Well, then we'll just get next year's spring cleaning done early." I look at Paul, pouting. "_Please_?"

Paul sighs, and then his face brightens. Instantly it grows wary. "Actually… I kind of forgot to tell you…you …already have plans for today."

I look at him suspiciously. "Really? What plans?"

"You're going on a shopping trip in Port Angeles. I was supposed to tell you last night when I go home, but…"

I am confused. "Wait, shopping? With who?"

Paul looks away guiltily. "Leah."

I fly out of the bed. "Leah?! What do you mean, Leah?! Paul, she _hates_ me!" I bury my face in my hands in dismay.

Paul stands next to me and wraps his arms around me comfortingly. "She doesn't _hate_ you, Cara, she was just-,"

"-_Jealous_. Yeah, Jacob said that. And that's ridiculous. I mean, I know about the whole thing with her and Sam, but still, _jealous_? Of me? I find that incredibly hard to believe…"

"Well, it's true. And she realized that she hasn't exactly been…civil towards you, and she told me last night after we lost the leech's trail that she wanted to go shopping with you today to make up for it. Have some sisterly bonding, I guess."

I groan. "This is _not_ going to end well, I can tell. Paul, we've never even had a real conversation. How am I supposed to spend the whole _day_ with her?"

Paul sighs. "I understand why you're worried. And the last thing I want is for you to be upset. I'll just tell her when she comes that you don't want to go."

I feel guilt seeping into me. Here Leah is, trying to make amends, and I'm being a coward. "Are you trying to do that whole reverse psychology thing to me?"

Paul looks at me innocently. "No. I really will tell her you don't want to go."

I sigh. "No, I'll go. I can deal with it. I mean, what's the worst that can happen, right?" I laugh nervously.

Paul smiles and kisses my forehead. "I'm glad you changed your mind. It'll be fine, I promise. And if she does _anything_ to upset you, she'll have to deal with me." His face darkens when he says this.

I look at Paul happily. "You make me love you more every minute, you know that?"

He hugs me tighter to him. "Trust me, I know _exactly_ what you're saying."

I lean my head against the crook of his neck and inhale deeply, wanting to keep his scent in my memory forever. I lift my head up and kiss his neck softly. I feel a rumbling coming from his chest. "Are you purring?" I tease.

Paul holds me away at arms length, his jaw clenching. "I'm going to be doing more than purring if you kiss me there again," he says huskily.

I blush deeply. Then I hear a knock on our door. "Um, Cara, Paul?" It's Kim. "I made breakfast."

My stomach growls, and Paul chuckles deeply. "We'll be right out," he says. Then he walks to his drawers and pulls out a sweatshirt, tossing it to me.

I hold it out and examine it. It's a dark maroon _La Push High_ sweatshirt. "What's this for?" I ask.

Paul shrugs. "It's so you won't look so _revealing_ in front of Jared."

"Revealing? I'm wearing pajamas, Paul."

He shrugs again "I know. That just seems really…intimate to me. I don't think Jared needs to see that."

I roll my eyes. "You're ridiculous," I mutter, but I pull it on anyway. It's huge, going down a little below my knees. I grin, knowing how stupid I must look. "Now I've got school spirit!" I joke.

Paul rolls his eyes and wraps his arm around me. We walk out of the room and in the living room, where Jared in lounging on the couch watching television. Kim is in the kitchen setting the small table in there. "Good morning," she says to us.

"Yeah, nice to see you guys finally decided to get up," Jared adds.

Paul sits down next to him and shoves him good-naturedly. "It's not even nine yet," Paul defends. I join Kim in the kitchen and help her finish setting the table. There are four plates stacked high with at least twenty pancakes on each, and a huge platter filled with bacon. "I found the groceries in the Jeep last night," Kim says. "And this morning I went out and bought some syrup, bacon, and some more groceries I thought we might need."

I nod and eye all the pancakes and bacon again. "It's going to take me awhile to get used to how much they'll eat," I comment, amazed.

Kim laughs. "Yeah, it's almost kind of gross, if you ask me." She finishes setting the table while I pour everyone a glass of milk. "Okay, breakfast is ready!" Kim calls to the boys. Instantly the boys are at the table piling their plates with pancakes and bacon. I quickly sit next to Paul and grab two pancakes. Kim does the same. I look at Paul in amazement. In the time it takes me to put syrup on my pancakes, he is finished eating his stack of six. "That _is_ gross," I say to Kim. Paul and Jared ignore us, focused only on the food in front of them. In record time, all of the food is gone, and Jared and Paul are patting their stomachs appreciatively. "Man, that was _good_ sweetheart," Jared says lovingly. Kim blushes, smiling softly to herself.

I get up and walk towards the bathroom. Paul takes hold of my wrist and kisses it as I pass by. I stop in my room and grab some clothes and shampoo then I go into the bathroom and start the shower. I finish quickly, wanting to have plenty of time to get myself ready to spend the day with Leah. I sigh. As much as Paul tried to reassure me, I still feel nervous. I really am afraid she doesn't like me, and I still think this whole shopping trip is a bad idea.

I throw on my clothes, dark blue jeans and a royal blue tank top, then head back into Paul's room. He is lying across the bed using his laptop. When he hears me come in he eyes me disapprovingly. "Aren't you going to be cold in that?" he asks skeptically. I roll my eyes. "Chill Paul," I say with a smile, "I'm gonna wear a jacket…"

He nods his head then stands. "Well I'm gonna go take a shower before the hot water is used up." He kisses me sweetly on the lips then heads towards the bathroom. I sigh and go back into my room. I zip up my suitcase and roll it into Paul's room. I have a feeling it'll be easier if all of my stuff just stays in here. I pull out my makeup and a mirror and set it up on Paul's desk. Then I pull out my iPod and hook it into Paul's laptop. The music begins playing and I hum along with it while I put on some makeup and fix my hair up into a ponytail. Then my song comes on. I love the movie RENT, and when "Season's of Love" begins playing, I feel the familiar tug in me, begging me to sing along, something I haven't done since mom left. When the solo was about to begin, I couldn't ignore the need anymore. With all the strength I could I sang the solo, like I used to sing:

525,600 minutes! 525,000 journeys to plan. 525,600 minutes - how can you measure  
the life of a woman or man?

I sway along as the next solo continues, then I sing along to the end of the song:

It's Time Now - To Sing Out  
Though The Story Never Ends  
Let's Celebrate  
Remember A Year In The Life Of Friends

_Remember the Love…_

Oh you got to you got to remember the love!  
You know that love is a gift from up above!  
Share love, give love, spread love!  
Measure, measure your life in love…

I trail off as the song ends, and I close my eyes. God, I've missed singing like that. I turn around to pick another song and I see Paul, standing at me with a look of awe on his face. "That," he breaths out, "was amazing. You should start singing again. Yo never should have quit. You…you sounded like and angel."

My face reddens as he says this, and I look away. Paul takes my hand and pulls me to the bed. He lies down with his head nestled in my lap. I sit with him, petting his hair and singing along softly to the songs on my iPod. Soon, I feel a rumble. I look down, and Paul is asleep. I quietly try to get up without waking him, but his eyes snap open. "What happened?" he asks groggily.

I smile. "You fell asleep."

"Oh. Sorry."

I look at him in confusion. "I don't know how you could possibly be tired when you got so much sleep last night…" Paul looks at me guiltily. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask. Then it hits me: "You went patrolling again last night didn't you?"

Paul looks at me, pained. "I had to! I mean, what if the leech had come back right after everyone had given up the trail?"

I sigh. "Then you would have been with me if he had tried anything." I put my hand on Paul's cheek. "I love you Paul. And I'm thankful that you want to find Lucian. But you _have_ to sleep. It'll be okay if you take a few nights off."

Paul grabs the hand on his cheek and gently kisses each of my fingers, making my heart sputter. "We'll see," he murmurs.

I close my eyes as he kisses my wrist. "Paul," I whisper. I open my eyes and see him inch towards me. Our lips touch. Just as Paul pulls me closer, I hear the front door open. "Hey Leah," I hear Jared say.

Paul pulls away and I sigh in frustration. "Dammit," he mutters. I laugh. "Disappointed?" I ask with an innocent smile. Paul smiles mischievously and growls quietly. "Don't be a tease," he warned playfully.

I'm about to ask what he means when a throat clears. We both turn and see Leah standing in the doorway. She looks like a model. Her long black hair hangs to her waist. She is wearing a bohemian-style white skirt with a red short-sleeved skirt. Gold bangles decorate her arms and gold earrings are in her ears. She wears red ballet flats, but she still towers over me. Overall, she looks glamorous, and I'll probably look like a fashion pariah standing next to her. But it's too late to turn back now. I dig in my suitcase and pull out my purse, which has a credit card that my mom funds. It was her little way of buying me over and showing me she still "cares." I also grab a black button-up cardigan to satisfy Paul. Pulling it on, I mumble, "Uh, I'm ready to go if you are Leah."

The air is extremely tense. Leah nods her head. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go."

Paul slides an arm around my waist, stopping me. "You've got a cell phone, right?" I nod. "Okay, if you need anything, just call Sue's house. I'll be there with Seth today." Then he turns to Leah. "You do _anything_ that upsets her," he threatens darkly, "and you'll regret it."

Leah scoffs. "Don't forget that you're not the only one that can change into a wolf. Or more in your case, a pup."

Paul lunges at her, but I step in between. "Paul," I reason gently. "She's not going to do anything to upset me, okay?" I can only hope that this is true. Paul calms instantly. He kisses me softly. "Don't forget," he murmurs against my lips, "I'll be at Sue's." I nod and pull away regretfully. I follow Leah outside and see a Volkswagen Rabbit parked in the driveway. "It's Jacob's," Leah said softly. "He let me borrow it."

"Oh," I say dumbly. We get in and drove away. The silence is incredibly awkward. I look out of the window, watching the woods fly by. Suddenly Leah turns to me, her eyes still watching the road. "Listen Cara," she says guiltily, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry about how I've been acting."

"Oh it's okay, Leah," I mumble, embarrassed. "You didn't really do anything…"

Leah laughs bitterly. "You don't have to fluff it up. I know I've been a bitch. I just…envied you. Everything I've ever wanted in my life you seemed to get so easily when you came. I was angry about that."

"How could you possibly be jealous of me? You're so…dazzling, and I'm so ordinary."

Leah sighed in frustration. "Exactly! You are normal! You don't change into a giant…dog and run off with a pack of wolf-men! You get the love of your life the day you get here, and mine leaves me!" I see bitterness creep into her eyes.

I look down at my hands. "I'm sorry about Sam and Emily. I know how much that must hurt," I say softly.

Leah shrugs weakly. "It's not too bad. I mean, I understand how he feels about her. They're soul mates. I just wish I didn't have to feel how he feels about her every time I change, you know? And I wish I could get over him," she confessed.

I put a hand on her shoulder. "You will, Leah. I mean, there will always be a little part of you that loves him, and it'll always hurt a little. But you can overcome it. Trust me, you'll heal sooner than you think."

Leah looked at me, tears glistening in her eyes. "You think so?"

I smile kindly. "Yeah, I really do."


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you so much to all who reviewed! And I will be updating my Kim/Paul fanfic soon, I promise!**

**I own nothing. Except Cara. And her dad. And Lucian. Wow, I actually own a lot…**

We arrive at the mall in Port Angeles, and Leah drags me inside. After her apology, we talked about anything that came to mind. It actually seemed like this whole bonding thing was working. We were beginning to act more like…sisters. We walk into the mall, and Leah pulls me over to an escalator. "Okay, there's this really great day spa upstairs I wanted to take you to. They treat you like royalty there…"

"Oh," I say in surprise, "I thought Paul said we were going shopping."

"Yeah, well, that's what I told Paul. And _I'll_ be shopping after I get a manicure. You'll stay in the spa for the full treatment. But I'll need you to tell me all of your sizes."

"Leah, this is all going to cost a lot of money. Let me give you my credit card…"

Leah rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. It's my treat. Don't worry about it. Now tell me your sizes."

As I tell her, we get off the escalator, and Leah leads me into the spa. She walks up to the front counter and begins talking to the clerk. I sit by the window and flip through a wedding magazine. I can't help but think about Paul and me. Will we ever get married? I'm sure we will, but what would it be like? Indoor or outdoors? What about our honeymoon? And how many kids would we have…?

Leah interrupts my thoughts. "They're ready for you, Cara." I am lead by a lady into a small room where I am waxed in every place imaginable. I've never been waxed before, and I'm sure the lady that did it went deaf from my howling. Why girls go through that kind of torture, I will never understand.

After that, I am put in a seaweed wrap. I feel very much like Cleopatra. After she'd been mummified. Then came the facial. While they rub creams and lathers onto my face, I am put into a massage chair, and my feet are placed in a hot tub of water. They give me a manicure and pedicure, painting my nails blood red.

Finally, they wash all the masks and lotions off of me, let me change back into my clothes, and then I am free to go. As soon as I walk out of the spa, Leah intercepts me. "Wasn't that _amazing_?" she asks.

I smile. "Um, yeah, it was great." Apparently I'm not a spa kind of girl.

I am shocked at the bags Leah is holding. There are backs from three different stores: Charlotte Russe, Hot Topic, and the one that shocks me the most, Victoria's Secret.

"Leah!" I gasp. "What did you _get_?!"

Leah rolls her eyes. "Calm down and wait until we get into the car. Then you can see."

As soon as we are out of the mall and in the Rabbit, I snatch the bags from Leah. Inside the Charlotte Russe bags are clothes. I am okay with that. Then comes Hot Topic. All that is in there are retro-goth lingerie. I examine a red pinstriped bra with matching underwear. "Leah, I can't wear this…" I murmur.

Lea laughs nervously. "Then you might not want to look in the Victoria's Secret bag…"

I gasp as I dump the bag out. I feel like I am getting buried in an avalanche of lacy bras, thongs, and baby doll nightgowns. I sigh, examining a thong that couldn't even cover my hand. At the bottom of the bag are Victoria's Secret _Amber Romance_ lotions and body washes. There are also many flavors of lip-glosses. "Okay," I say, "I'll keep the lotions and body washes. And the lip-glosses. You can keep the rest of this."

Leah groaned. "Cara, those are for you, not me."

"Leah! When am I supposed to wear all of this? I'm living with Paul, remember?" I remind her with exasperation.

Leah looks at me like I'm stupid. "Yeah, I know. Why do you think I bought all of this? And made you go to the spa…?"

I gasp. "Leah,-no,-I-I can't…" I stammer. "Are you trying to get me to seduce Paul?"

Leah nods. "And it shouldn't take too long with all of this. From what I've heard, werewolves can be very…overeager….with their imprints."

I gape at Leah. Then I shake my head. "I hate to tell you this, Leah, but Paul and I have decided to wait in that aspect of our relationship."

Leah snorts. "Right. You let me know how that works out for you."

I flush. Though I can't help but feel excited by what Leah says. I never said that I actually _wanted_ to wait…

The rest of the drive is in silence, both of us in our own worlds. We pull up to Sue's house. "Why are we here?" I ask.

"They want you and Paul to have dinner here every night, remember?"

I nod, remembering when we made that deal. I turn to Leah. "Thanks for taking me to Port Angeles, Leah. It was fun. I'm glad we got to spend time together."

Leah nods. "Yeah, I'm glad too. I'm relived that I finally set things right between us too." She gestures to the house. "You go on in. I've got to take Jake's car back. Don't forget your bags," she adds.

I nod and climb out of the car. Before I go inside I stuff the Hot Topic and Victoria's Secret bags into the Charlotte Russe bag. I don't want anyone to see the things in there…

Before I can even step on the front porch, Paul flies out of the house and wraps me in his embrace, lifting me off the ground. "I missed you," he says softly. Then he sniffs my neck. "Why do you smell like seaweed?"

I blush profusely. "Leah decided to take me to the spa. The seaweed wrap was one of the 'beauty' rituals I was forced to undertake." I grimace.

Paul laughs at my expression. "You still smell good," he insists. Then he eyes the bags. "What all did you get?"

I shrug nonchalantly. "You know, just clothes for the school year."

Paul nods and, taking my hand, leads me into the house. Sue is busy setting the table while dad is cooking. From the smell of it, it seems we'll be having my favorite food, Irish stew. I can smell the mouth-watering mutton mixed with the potatoes, onions, and parsley. My stomach growls in anticipation. Paul chuckles and puts his hand on it, rubbing it affectionately. "Someone's hungry," he murmurs.

"Hey Cara!" Seth walks out of his room, grinning. "Long time no see!"

I laugh. "I saw you yesterday, Seth!"

He shrugs, still grinning. "Whatever. It seemed longer…"

Dad interrupts. "Dinner!" he calls. "Come on to the table! Cara honey, where's Leah?"

"She's dropping off Jake's car," I reply. Paul kisses my ear and whispers to me, "Did you two straighten things up? If she upset you, just tell me and I'll take care of it."

I lean into Paul, taking his hand and squeezing it. "It was fine," I say with a smile. "It's like we've been sisters for years."

He nods and leads me to the table. Sue sets bowls of the stew on each place on the table. Leah walks in quietly. "Smells good Dave," she says to my father.

Dad grins. "One of my best dishes: Irish stew. It also happens to be Cara's favorite."

Paul squeezes my hand as Dad says this. Leah sits on the other side of me and we dig in. Seth, Leah, and Paul scarf down their food in record time and are soon up for seconds. Sue shakes her head. "Please," she begs, "try to act like you weren't raised by wolves…"

As soon as she says this, everyone laughs. "That'll be hard," Seth comments, "considering-,"

Sue sighs. "You know exactly what I'm trying to say, Seth Clearwater. Manners, dear, would be appreciated."

Seth grumbles incoherently as he waits for Paul to finish getting another bowl of stew. Paul sits back down next to me and eats much more slowly, grinning slyly at me. The rest of dinner is uneventful, consisting of small talk. I'm not really paying attention. My thoughts keep drifting back to what Leah had bought me. I couldn't wear it. Could I?

Before I know it, Paul is pulling me up gently, amusement on his face. "You ready to go?" he asks gently. I nod and grab the shopping bags before Paul can. We say our goodbyes to the family and then we make our way to Paul's Jeep. I don't bother buckling; instead I snuggle close to Paul. He kisses my forehead. "You seemed…distracted at dinner. Is something wrong?"

I look at him innocently. "I seemed distracted? Huh, that's odd. Nothing's wrong, though." I smile, trying to look carefree.

Paul eyes me. I can tell he doesn't believe me, but he doesn't push it. "If you say so…" He starts the Jeep and we back out. He turns on the radio and I feel his chest rumble as he hums along to the song. Suddenly I feel warmth on my knee. Paul's hand is resting there, his thumb slowly drawing little circles. I focus on controlling my breathing. I feel a strange heat starting at my toes and slowly making its way up. A heat that strangely makes me shiver…

Paul's attention shifts to me. "Cold?" he asks. I shrug, not really sure. Paul takes his hand off my knee and wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. I stop shivering soon.

We pull up to Paul and Jared's house, and Paul pulls me out of the Jeep. He carries me bridal style to the door while I clutch the bags. He sets me down and opens the door. Inside Jared and Kim are watching a movie together. Kim is perched on Jared's lap, and Jared lightly strokes her hair. They turn when we walk in. "How was your trip?" Kim asks kindly.

"It was fun," I reply. "But I'm a little tired now."

Paul leads me to his room. We both plop on the bed. "So…" Paul begins. "What do you want to do for the rest of the evening?"

I shrug. "I have no clue. Whatever you want to do is fine with me."

"How about you show me everything you and Leah bought?"

I immediately tense. Paul notices this, and his eyebrows rise questioningly. "Um…how about tomorrow?" I say. Then I yawn. "I kind of feel like turning in early today. All that shopping wore me out…" I stand and walk towards the door, planning on changing into my _normal_ pajamas.

Paul grabs my wrist and turns me to face him. "Honey, what is it? Why are you acting so strange?"

I feel guilty that I'm worrying him. But I don't plan on telling him that I'm concerned about all the lingerie Leah bought me… "Nothing's wrong, Paul. I really don't know what you're talking about."

Paul kisses my cheek. "Because you know," he said, his lips lingering on my face, "that you can tell me anything. Don't ever be afraid to tell me something."

I nod and smile. "Yeah, I know. It's just…a girl issue, you know?"

Paul pulls away and looks at me in bewilderment. "No. I don't know."

I put my hand on his cheek. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. I promise."

Paul shrugs. "Okay, if you say so…but I just want you to know: You can always talk to me. About anything. You know that, right?"

I beam at him. "Of course I do." Then I pull away. "I'm gonna go change now, okay?" Paul nods. I begin to grab my usual pajamas then I pause. An idea hits me. I hesitantly turn to Paul. "Do you have an old t-shirt I could wear?" I ask him nervously.

Paul arches and eyebrow. "What's wrong with your pajamas?"

I shrug. "Nothing. I…I just feel like wearing something of yours."

Paul smiles and rifles through a drawer. He tosses a white t-shirt at me. Perfect. I grab the Charlotte Russe bag that also holds the Victoria's Secret and Hot Topic bags and rush into the bathroom. I pull a bottle of lotion from Victoria's Secret called _Strawberries and Champagne_. I undress and rub globs of it onto my skin. Then I reach into the Hot Topic bag and pulled out a package labeled: "Matching Set: Black and Red Pinstripe Bra and Hotpants." I gingerly take out the bra and underwear and put them on. Then I pull Paul's t-shirt on over it. The t-shirt stops a little above my knees. I glance at myself and know I'm achieving the look I want. I'm being "sexy" by definition, but in my own way, a way that makes me comfortable.

I quickly brush my teeth and hair. Then I open the door and check out in the hall to make sure that Kim and Jared are still in the living room. When I don't see anyone, I sneak down the hallway quietly and step back into Paul's room. He's on his laptop, and he doesn't glance up when I enter. "Hey," he says, "are you gonna do any of the summer assignments? You could just say you didn't know about them since you're new. I have to get started on them though…"

I shift nervously. "Uh…I don't know. I haven't exactly been thinking about it lately…"

Paul laughs, his eyes still on the computer. "Yeah, I guess you've had a lot of other things on your mind since you moved here, huh?" Then he frowns in concentration. "Something smells good…is that you?"

I sigh. I want to yell at him. _Look up! You're girlfriend is wearing your t-shirt with skimpy underwear!!_ But instead, I ramble. "Uh, yeah, it's me. Leah bought it, actually. She dropped me off at the spa then went to Victoria's Secret. Because they don't just sell lingerie there, you know. They sell lotion and shower gel and bubble bath. Oh, and these really good smelling lip-glosses. But yeah, she got this lotion there. It's called 'Strawberries and Champagne." I think it smells good too. And I thought you might like it, so I put some on…But I don't know. It might be too much, you know? I usually don't get really fancy lotion or anything…"

Paul finally looks up. "Are you nervous about something? Because you're kind of rambling…" He trails off as he takes the sight of me in. His eyes widen, and his jaw drops in amazement. "Cara," he breathes. "What are you wearing?"

I smile innocently as a newfound confidence overtakes me. "What do you mean, Paul? I'm wearing your t-shirt. You gave it to me, remember?"

"But-I can-see through-I see your-," he stammers and doesn't finish.

I sigh softly. "Oh. You have a problem with this?" I gesture to my clothing. "I guess I'll have to change then." I turn for the door.

Before I can even reach for the door handle, a hand grabs my arm and forcefully spins me around. Paul bends to his mouth is at my ear, breathing heavily. "No you won't. I told you," he murmurs roughly, "not to be a tease."

He crushes his mouth to mine. There is nothing gentle about him this time. He pushes his tongue into my mouth and easily takes control. I try to push away and catch my breath, but Paul only pulls me tighter to him.

Suddenly I'm pushed against the wall. Paul finally pulls away from my mouth and moves to my jaw and my neck, sniffing. As I gasp for breath, I hear him whisper. "Mmm, smells so good." His tongue flicks out at my pulse and my eyelids flutter. My knees shake as he kisses down to my collarbone. He bites there, but he still isn't gentle. It hurts, but I don't want him to stop. He moves back up my neck. I feel dizzy from him. When he nips at my earlobe, my legs buckle, and I collapse.

Paul lets out a growl of frustration and quickly moves me to the bed to I am lying down. He kisses my lips again, and I grab his hair, pulling him close to me. Suddenly I feel his hand gently pull up on the t-shirt. I gasp in his mouth and pull away. Paul chuckles. "Shh," he whispers. "It's alright." He stops pulling the t-shirt and places his hand on my stomach. I shudder involuntarily. He places his lips back onto mine. I feel his hand slowly traveling up. When I feel it touch my bra, I jump in surprise, and my back arches on its own. Paul pauses and looks at me in the eyes. I nod my head, giving him permission.

His hand travels up to my breast and just sits there, resting on top of it. "Paul," I find myself begging, "Do something!"

He plants kisses along my jaw line and his hand gently squeezes. I arch my back again. I'm beyond all thought, all comprehension. All I can feel is need. I _need _Paul.

Paul's hand moves to my back and the clasp of the bra. I lift myself higher, and he unclasps it. His hand travels back my breasts, squeezing and massaging gently. His mouth continues to kiss my jaw and neck. I begin to feel lightheaded again, and I'm still gasping for air. "Paul," I gasp. "I need-,"

"I know," he says softly. He squeezes harder, and a moan escapes my mouth. "God Cara," Paul murmurs into my neck. "You are so perfect…"

Suddenly we hear a knock on the door. Paul curses and his hand retreats from the shirt. I whimper softly as he moves to the door. He yanks it open angrily. "What?" he hisses at Jared.

"I just wanted you to know that Sam called. He wants you to know you have to patrol again tomorrow."

Paul begins shaking softly. "And you couldn't _wait_ until later to tell me that because…"

"Hey, calm down Paul. I'm sorry to have-_interrupted_-anything in there." He peeks around Paul and grins mischievously at me. Without a word, Paul slams the door in Jared's face. "Idiot," he mutters.

I smile softly. "Yeah, that did kind of ruin the mood, didn't it?"

Paul sighs in disappointment. "Sure did…" Then he glares at me. "You shouldn't have come in here like this anyway," he scolds gently. "It took all of my self-control not to take you and-,"

I sigh. "The only person here who seems to have a problem with that is you."

"I already told you, I want your first time to be special."

I roll my eyes and look at Paul impatiently. "Is my first time going to be with you?"

Paul looks at me in confusion. "Um, yes…"

"Then it's going to be special no matter what."

Paul smiles. "I know you think that now, but you might not think that after."

I sigh in frustration, and it sounds like a growl. "You are so damn stubborn, you know that?" I mutter angrily.

Paul wraps me in his arms. "Yep. And I don't plan on changing my mind. But I don't want to fight about it." He kisses my lips lightly. "Let's just go to sleep, hmm?"

I nod against Paul's chest. He flips off the light switch and we snuggle into each other. "Goodnight Cara," he sys softly. "I love you."

"I love you too," I say. Then, as I drift into sleep, I add, "And I'm going to change your mind."

**Please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry I'm a little late updating. I've been at my church all weekend. But anyway, here's the next chapter. I still own nothing**

**By the way, this is the chapter where the foreshadowing shows…**

I wake up soaking with sweat. Paul is still asleep, and he's snoring loudly. I have no clue how I possibly could have slept through that _all night_. I shake him gently. "Paul, it's time to get up," I say. I'm not surprised when he doesn't answer. But unlike yesterday I actually know what to do to get him up. I place my lips on his. Of course his eyes fly open and he pulls me closer, deepening the kiss. I sigh in contentment and pull away. "Sleep well?"

"I always do if you're here," he replies. I smile and can't help but blush. I rub my thumb on his lips. "What do you want to do today?" I ask.

Paul opens his mouth and gently bites my thumb. "What happened to spring cleaning?" he reminds me.

I sigh and pull my thumb away. "I'm not really in a cleaning mood today," I say as I lean back down onto the pillows.

Paul sits up and perches so that he is right above me. He kisses my forehead. "Well, I was thinking," He kisses my eyelid, "that we could," He moves to my nose, "go cliff diving." He finishes with a light kiss on the lips.

I look at him with skepticism. "Cliff diving? You're kidding right?"

He looks at me innocently. "No. Why would I be?"

"Do I look like a cliff diver to you?"

He rolls his eyes and moves to my ear, kissing it. "No…but I'll teach you." His tongue flicks out quickly and I gasp. "It'll be fun," his insists. He bites my earlobe gently. "Just say yes."

I blink, overwhelmed. "What?"

"Say yes."

"Yes…"

He smiles and pulls back. "I'm going to have to remember to do that whenever I need something."

I narrow my eyes and hit his chest. "You're mean," I mutter. Then I stretch and sit up. "Well, cliff diving it is then. How about I get ready then I'll fix you, Jared, and Kim something to eat."

He nods and smiles. "Sounds like a good plan. Except Kim and Jared went out early. She had a doctor's appointment. So just breakfast for me. And if your taking requests, I love scrambled eggs."

I shake my head and grin. "Okay, scrambled eggs it is then. How many do you usually eat?"

He thinks for a minute. "Well…we can go out to lunch right after cliff diving so I think a dozen will probably be fine for now."

I gape. "Geez…I don't think I'll ever get used to that."

He chuckled and ruffled my hair. "I'm sure you'll manage. Unless you want waste away to just skin and bones…" He flops on me dramatically.

I gasp for air. "Paul…I can't…breathe!"

He gets up a little and kisses my lips. "I guess I'll let you get ready now," he decides hesitantly. I laugh and get up, grabbing a bikini and shorts out of my bag. I go into the bathroom and shower and slip on the bikini and shorts. The royal blue bikini isn't too skimpy, but it looks good on me.

I glide into the kitchen and pull out the open cart of eggs, which had five left, and a new carton. I hear the bathroom door close. _Paul must be getting in the shower_. I look in a cupboard and pull out a box of blueberry muffin mix. Kim must have gotten it yesterday, and I'm glad she did. I mix the muffins and put them in the oven. Then, I begin to scramble all of the eggs, adding a little bit of cheddar cheese.

"Mmm, that smells good," Paul says appreciatively. His hair is wet, and he's only wearing a pair of swim trunks.

I roll my eyes playfully. "Just make yourself useful and set the table for the both of us."

Paul does it, kissing my cheek each time he passes me. I scoop the eggs into a bowl and pull the muffins out of the oven. I put them on a plate and place everything on the table. Instantly Paul is scooping eggs onto his plate and grabbing muffins. I shake my head, laughing, and grab a muffin while I still can.

Suddenly, the phone's shrill ringing fills the room. Paul looks at it across the room with dismay. I laugh again. "You keep eating. I'll get it," I say.

I cross the room and pick up the phone. "Hello?"

"Kim? Cara?" It's Sam.

"It's Cara. What's up?"

Sam's voice is tense. "Will you please put Paul on the phone? I need to speak with him."

"Uh, sure." Sam is making me nervous. "Paul, it's for you," I say. Then, I add, "It's Sam."

Paul walks over and takes the phone, putting his other arm around my waist. "Hey, Sam, what's up?" He listens for a minute, then his eyes widen. "They did?! Well what happened? Did they-," He stops, and I can hear Sam's voice interrupt.

Suddenly, Paul flies away from me, fury in his eyes. He lets out a string of profanities. "They did _what_?! Why would they-," He can't speak anymore, he is shaking so hard. He listens for a moment. "That's no excuse!" he roars. He is trembling violently still, and he slams the phone down and rushes out of the house.

I know it's probably a bad idea, but I follow. Paul is out in the front yard, breathing deeply, and shaking.

"Paul, what happened? What is it?" I try to come near him, but his hand shoots out, stopping me.

His voice is surprisingly calm. "Two of the bloodsuckers were out hunting today. It was the doctor and the one that sees the future."

"Carlisle and Alice," I remember.

He nods. "They found Lucian's scent, and they followed it and caught up to him."

I smile. "That's good, isn't it?" Then I see how upset Paul is, and I backtrack. "Isn't it?"

He shakes his head. "They let him go."

I gasp in utter shock. "What? Why would they do that? They said they would help…" I trail off, still stunned.

Paul smiles bitterly. "Apparently they informed Lucian of your…bond to me, and he agreed to stop tracking you and keep traveling up to Canada to find someone else. It seems that Lucian has a soft spot for romance."

I shake my head in horror. "But…he could have been lying! Why would they just take his word like that?"

"Well Carlisle had Alice look into the future, or whatever she does, and she had a little 'vision' of Lucian hunting in Ontario."

I sigh in relief. "Oh, okay…I thought they just let him go or something." Then I look and Paul's trembling form, which had turned away from me. "Why are you so upset, Paul? It's okay now; we're safe! There's no reason to be mad." I put my hand on his shoulder.

Paul whirls around so he's facing me. Fury was written in his face. "No it's _not_!" he growls ferociously. "She could be wrong! He could come back! If that leech had been after their precious _Bella_, they would have destroyed him without a thought! But since you're not…on _their_ side…" Instead of finishing, he lets out a roar and shudders violently. He's reminding me of that day when he fought with Jacob. For the first time since I've met him, I feel afraid of Paul. Not just afraid, but _terrified_.

I hear a car pull up. "Paul, no!" It's Sam. He looks at me in horror.

I see a flash of gray, then hear a ripping sound and a howl. A flash of pain, then darkness surrounds me.

**I know, a cliffhanger. I'm not going to put a quota on reviews, but we're _so_ close to 50! It would make my day to get 50 reviews. But I'll update at the same time either way. :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey, sorry for the late update. And I'm not sure when I'll be updating **_**Endlessly, She Said**_**. Sorry!**

**Characters are still Stephanie Meyer's. **

I wake up with a groan and open my eyes slowly. I'm in an all-white room, and it smells unusually clean. I try to sit up and groan with pain, lying back down. My whole body is sore…That's when I look down with a gasp. I'm in a hospital gown.

A door opens softly and a beautiful voice says, "Ah, good. You're awake." I look up and see Carlisle walk I with a clipboard.

I look at him, panic rising in me. "Why am I in the hospital?"

He looks at me with sympathy. "You…got hurt. You don't remember?"

I look at him stupidly. "I know that Paul was really upset and then I got scared and blacked out…" I trail off with a gasp. "You don't mean…"

Carlisle nodded. "Luckily for you, he didn't get your face like he did to Sam Uley's mate. However," he adds with a sigh, "there will be a lot of scarring."

Again I look down and notice something new. Bandages are wrapped around my left arm. And I can feel bandages wrapped all around my torso. I look at Carlisle with shock. "Paul…where is he?"

Carlisle looks at me sadly. "We're…not really sure. But your father just left to go home and get some rest. I can call him for you and-,"

I feel tears welling up in my eyes. "I don't want my dad," I say childishly. "I want Paul."

Carlisle sighs again. "I'm sorry. As soon as I find out where he is I'll let you know. But for now, you'll have to do without him."

Carlisle exits while I stare at the wall in shock. Where is Paul? How could he just…leave me? Does he think I don't want him anymore? That I'm mad about what he did? I understand that he didn't mean to. He loves me…

The door opens again and a throat clears. "Hello Cara." It's Sam. "We called your house, but Sue said your father had just fallen asleep. She wanted me to tell you that they'll be over as soon as he wakes up."

I look at Sam and ask numbly, "How long have I been unconscious?"

"About two days…you had lost so much blood…it made your body weak." Sam

winces as if remembering a bad memory. Of course I'm sure this is reminding him of Emily.

I look at Sam pathetically. "Where is Paul?" I ask softly.

"He ran as soon as he saw what he did. But he's not in his wolf form so we're having trouble finding him." Sam stops his explanation in horror as I start to cry pitifully. "I want Paul," I sob, blinded with tears.

A soothing voice cuts in. "Sam, honey, you focus on finding Paul. I'll talk with Cara." I feel the hospital bed sink as Emily sits with me. "Hey hon," she says gently.

I sniffle and look at her. "Why did he run?" I ask.

"Sweetie, you have to understand what's going through his mind right now. All he can think about is how he couldn't stop himself from hurting you, his imprint. That kind of guilt is overwhelming. Trust me, Sam did the same thing too."

"He'll come back though, right?"

Emily nods reassuringly. "Of course. You're his imprint, Cara. I give him an hour until he can't bear being away anymore. So why don't you," she gets off the bed and switches on a TV, "just rest here and watch some television. He'll be here before you know it." She walks out the door. "Oh, and Cara," she adds before she is gone, "you were camping in the woods and a bear attacked you." I nod, taking in the alibi.

For a while I just lay there, watching meaningless soap opera after soap opera. I am visited by Jacob and Seth, and then Leah. I am about to drift off to sleep when I hear a familiar throat clear. My head snaps up and I look at Paul. He looks terrible. There are bags under his droopy eyes. His hair is a mess. And his face looks distraught. But this doesn't stop the absolute joy from radiating off of me when he breathes, "Cara."

I smile brilliantly. "Paul!" I begin to sit up and walk towards him, ignoring the pain in my stomach when I do so. But he backs away in horror, an arm stuck out to stop me. "No!" he yells. "Stay away from me."

I can feel my smile fading, so I force it to stay. "Paul?" I ask, and we can both here a note of hysteria in my voice. "What do you mean?"

He shakes his head vehemently. "You can't come near me. I might hurt you again…"

I force out a nervous laugh, my voice rising a few octaves. "Paul, that was an accident. It's over."

He still shakes his head. "No…I'm leaving Cara. I came to make sure you're alright, and now that I know you are, I'm going."

I can feel myself shutting down as he says this. "You can't just leave. You love me!"

He looks at me with desperation. "I know I love you! Don't you understand? That's why I have to leave!"

I look at him, hysteria seeping into me. "But…I thought you couldn't live without me…"

He looks away. "I know."

Suddenly I'm screaming. "You promised! You promised you would never leave me!"

He looks at me with sorrow. "I also promised that I would never hurt you! And look where that's gotten!" He shakes his head. "I can't bear seeing you like this and knowing that I'm the one that did it. You'll move on. I promise."

I look at Paul pleadingly. "Paul, please, don't do this." Tears spill over my eyes. My voice drops down to a whisper. "You're breaking my heart." I shut my eyes, trying to end the flow of tears.

And when I open my eyes, he is gone.

* * *

It's been a week. No one can seem to find Paul. Either he hasn't changed into a wolf, or he's out of the pack's range for hearing his thoughts. I walk around like I am in a coma. I'm back from the hospital, but I'm staying with my dad and the Clearwaters. The other night everyone was at our house. They thought I was asleep, and so everyone began talking about me.

"I've never seen her act like this," my dad murmurs. "Especially not over a boy. She hasn't even spoken a word since he left."

"I just can't believe Paul left like that," Leah spits. "It's disgusting."

"I understand what he's going through," Sam defends. "I mean, to know that _you_ are the cause of hurting your imprint makes you want to die. But it's time for him to face up to the consequences of losing control. Running away like he's doing now is only making things worse."

"I'm just really worried about Cara," says Seth. "I mean, is she gonna stay like this?"

Jacob's rumbling voice fills the room. "Who knows? She reminds me of…Bella. After those leeches left."

"I just hope Paul comes back," says Emily softly.

I block out the rest of the conversation. I can't deal with thinking about Paul anymore.

* * *

The next day Leah wakes me up gently. "Cara," she says softly. "It's time to go to go get your stitches out."

I mechanically get up and ready. Leah knows I will just grab whatever clothes in my drawers that my hands touch first, so she picks out an outfit for me. She also helps with my hair and makeup. I just stare into space.

The drive to the doctor's is silent. Only my father and I are in the car.

We arrive and are sent to a room. A few minutes later Carlisle glides into the room, graceful as ever. "Hello Cara," he murmurs. "How are the stitches doing? Have you been cleaning them like I showed you?"

I nod mutely. Carlisle's eyebrow raises but he says nothing. He goes to work removing the stitches. In a few minutes, they are all out. I look at my arm and stomach. The cuts are still red and fresh looking, even though there are scabs covering them. Carlisle smiles at me as he wraps my arm and stomach back up in bandages. "Just keep these on for another week or so," he says. "I'm also going to give you a salve to apply every night that will help prevent any kind of infection. You just stay here Cara while your father and I go to my office." He leaves, my father right behind.

A few minutes later, the door flies opened with a worried-looking Alice and Edward Cullen. Alice sees my surprised expression and says warily, "Have you seen Carlisle?"

I point in the direction of his office. They nod and leave in a rush, Alice saying, "Stay here," to me in a voice that doesn't leave room for compromise. But I can't help but follow anyway. Something is obviously wrong, and I have a feeling it might concern me. I see Carlisle's office, the door to it slightly ajar. I walk up to it and listen.

"Carlisle," Alice says breathlessly, ignoring my father, "The dog showed up at our house a few minutes ago. The one that's been missing, Paul." I felt my heart starting up again.

"Really? What did he want?" Carlisle asks.

"Hey was in a frenzy, banging on the door, screaming, begging for one of us to kill him." I clamp my hand over my mouth so I don't gasp and get caught eavesdropping.

Carlisle's voice is shocked. "He asked you to _destroy_ him?"

"Yes, and his mind was chaotic," Edward adds. "He kept thinking about Cara and what he did. Over and over, it was 'I hurt her. I hurt her. I hurt her. I could have killed her.'"

My eyes widen in shock. _He tried to get them to kill him because of me?_ I hear Carlisle again. "So what did you do?"

"Jasper and Emmett are keeping an eye on him. He was in a spare room when we left. I think Esme was going to try to reason with him, but we thought you might be best at doing that."

I hear Carlisle sigh. "Yes, you're right. Well, Alice, go tell everyone that we're having a family emergency and I have to go. Have you told the rest of the pack?"

"No," replies Alice. "But I'll call their Alpha with a hospital phone." I back up against a wall and Alice rushes out, Carlisle following. My father follows too, but without the speed and grace. Edward must have left too, because no one else leaves the office. I sigh in relief, glad that I spied without being detected.

Suddenly, a hand grabs my shoulder. I open my mouth to scream, but no sound comes out. A voice chuckles and says, "It's rude to eavesdrop, you know."

I turn around and see its only Edward. I can't help but sigh in relief. Then I speak the first words I've spoken since Paul left: "You knew I was out there the whole time, didn't you?"

Edward nods. "But you didn't say anything because…" I prompt.

He shrugs. "He's the love of your life isn't he? I figured you had a right to know. Besides, if it were Bella and me then I'd want that same courtesy extended."

I smile. "Thank you. Um…they're not going to hurt Paul, are they?"

Edward looks at me with slight annoyance. "We may drink blood, but we're not evil or barbaric. We're not going to harm him. He hasn't done anything. Besides, the wolves have helped us before. So, as much as it pains me to say this, it's only right that we help them."

I nod. "Okay. Thank you, again."

He smiles a crooked, yet breathtakingly gorgeous smile. "Well, I should go now. I might have to help." He turns to leave but I grab his arm.

"Please," I plead him. "Take me with you."

He eyes me reluctantly. "I don't think I should…I'm not sure it's a good idea…"

But I can't take no for an answer. "Please, Edward," I beg. "This is about me, too. I _have_ to see him. _Please_."

Edward sighs. "Alright. I'll take you. But this was completely your idea."

I nod. We go outside and I walk towards the parking lot, preparing to be led to a car. But Edward stops me. "I didn't drive," he says calmly.

I look at him I confusion. "You didn't?"

He grins. "No."

"Then how-,"

"I _ran_."

**I know it wasn't very eventful, but Please Review! **


	17. Chapter 17

**I was hoping this chapter would turn out a little better, but let's see what you guys think. Sorry I'm late updating.**

I look at Edward in bewilderment. "Ran?"

He grins wider. "Vampires are very good runners. You're going to have to ride on my back."

I reel away at the idea. "I don't know if that's such a good idea…"

Edward shrugs. "Whatever you say…" He turns and walks towards the woods. Soon I can't even see him. Then I stumble after him.

"Wait up!" I call when I'm well into the woods. Suddenly Edward appears next to me. "Climb on," he instructs. I hesitantly climb onto his back so I am riding piggyback. Edward glances over his shoulder. "Hold on." And then he is off.

I've never moved so fast in my lifetime. It is insanely fast. I can't even make out any of the scenery we are passing. It's just one big blur. I can feel adrenaline build up in me as we fly through the woods. I feel so…_free_. I can't help but let out a wild cry of exhilaration. Who knew I had an inner speed-demon?

Within a few minutes he has slowed down and we are in front of the Cullen house. I get off from his back and immediately fall to the ground, incredibly dizzy. I hear Edward's smooth laugh and then he is grabbing my arm and helping me up. "That was so cool," I say in amazement.

Edward shakes his head. "You're a strange girl. Associating with those…dogs, enjoying that run…"

I ignore him, remembering why I came back to the Cullen house in the first place. Paul is in there. And he's begging the Cullens to kill him because of me. I walk up to the door and march into the house without knocking. No one is in the main room. "No one could stand the smell of the dog anymore," explains Edward. "Carlisle and Esme are in the room with Paul."

"Okay," I say. "And if you wouldn't mind pointing out that room, I would appreciate it."

Edward shakes his head. "Just give Carlisle and Esme some time to calm him down. And his alpha-what was his name? Oh yes, Sam. He is on his way, according to Alice. How about I take you into a spare room to wait? You look exhausted. You can rest while you wait." He looks at me with an expression of pity, and I glare at him. I don't _want_ his pity. I want Paul. But the look on his face tells me that it wasn't a suggestion that I go into another room; I'd be going whether I wanted to or not. So I shrug and mumble, "Lead the way."

He leads me into a room that I'm positive had to have been decorated professionally. The walls are a soft pink color, with windows covered in rose-colored taffeta curtains. A white four-poster bed is the centerpiece of the room, with a pink comforter. There are also matching white drawers and a white vanity. The room looks like it belongs to royalty. I feel out of place.

"Just wait here," Edward says quietly. "We'll get you when it's time." Then he leaves, shutting the door behind him.

As soon as that door is shut, I sit on the bed, and panic rises in me. Obviously they're going to get Paul to understand that trying to end his life won't help anything. But what if they can't convince him to take me back? What if he still leaves? I feel myself shaking at the thought. I cannot live without Paul. I know that now. If he leaves, I'll follow him. I'm not sure how I will, but I will.

_Ha, he's a werewolf, Cara_, I think to myself. _If he wants to leave me, I won't be able to find him_. I blink back tears. I can't think that. He won't leave me. But the possibility of it is overwhelming me, and I break down, sobbing uncontrollably.

After what seems like hours, I stop crying and compose myself. I know the chances are he'll leave, and I need to prepare myself with that possibility. Within a few moments, I am numb again. I stare straight ahead, but see nothing. I feel nothing. I am dead.

And I stay like that even when the door opens. And when I hear his voice, "Cara?" I look straight ahead. I know what he's here to do. He's come to say goodbye. And I don't want to face that.

"It's okay Paul," I say, and I sound like a robot, even to myself. "I know what you're here to do. But I'd rather you just leave. Don't bother saying goodbye." I wait for him to leave.

But he never does. He sits on the bed, trying to get me to look at him. "Cara, I'm not-,"

I can feel my control slipping. Tears blur my vision, so I look further away from Paul. "Oh stop it, Paul," I say, and my voice cracks. "Please, just go. It'll hurt more if you try to explain why you want to leave."

He grabs my chin and as much as I fight it, guides my face to look at him. Something in my eyes upsets him, I can see it. "Oh Cara…" he whispers, and even his voice breaks. "I'm not leaving you. Not now. Not ever. I was so stupid, Cara! I thought leaving you would keep you safe. But I can't live without you. So I thought if I…" He lets out a strangled sob and doesn't finish, and now he's the one looking away.

I shake my head, and the tears spill out. "Paul, don't you understand? I love you! I can't live without you either! I _need_ you Paul. When I thought you were gone, nothing mattered to me anymore. _Nothing_. I felt like I had died. This," I gesture to my bandages, "means _nothing_. Because that heals. But this," I put my hand to my heart, "stays broken." I know I'm blubbering, and he probably can't understand a word I'm saying, but I continue. "How can I make you understand Paul? I'm not a werewolf. I don't imprint. But that doesn't mean I feel any less connected with you. If I had found out you died, I would have been joining you shortly. I love you so much…" I can't breathe, I'm crying so hard.

Paul pulls me to him and holds me tightly. I feel wetness on my hair, and I know my Paul, one of the toughest in the pack, is crying. "You're so stupid, Cara!" he cries. "Don't ever even _suggest_ ending your life over me. So stupid…" We both hold each other tightly, afraid the other one might disappear. I'm crying uncontrollably. Paul has stopped, I think, but he still clutches me to him like I may leave if he lets go.

And we stay this way until Sam leads us to his truck. Then we ride home, never letting go of each other.

**Please tell me what you think!**


	18. Chapter 18

**I am so so so so so so so sorry.**

**These past few weeks have been incredibly hectic, and I haven't been able to update. But I thank all of you guys for still reviewing and being supportive! The end is near for this story…**

I open my eyes, completely disoriented. I must have fallen asleep before we got home. I turn around and look at the empty spot in the bed next to me. I feel panic rise in me. _He left again_.

I stumble out of the bed and make my way to the door. As I open it though, I almost collide with Paul, who is balancing a glass of milk and a mug of coffee on a box of a dozen doughnuts. His eyes widen as the coffee threatens to spill, but I grab the mug and steady it. "I was hoping to get back before you woke up," says Paul.

I can see the caution and wariness in his eyes. He is still afraid of hurting me. So I smile and, grabbing the box from him, set everything on the desk. "Thank you," I say, and then I slip my hand behind his neck and pull his lips down to meet mine.

At first Paul is hesitant, and I'm afraid he might pull away from me. But then I hear him sigh, and he deepens the kiss. He pulls me to him, and his tongue darts into my mouth. To my disappointment, he pulls away. He rests his forehead against mine. "I missed you so much, Cara," he says softly.

I grin and hug him tightly. "Me too. I never realized how much I loved you until you…left me." I feel my smile fall and I look away.

Paul tilts my chin to look at him. His face is pained. "I've hurt you so much. First I loose control, and then I leave you to deal with it by yourself. What can I do to make up for that? To make you forgive me?"

I sigh. "As long as you stay with me Paul, then I already forgive you. It was an accident, you hurting me. I understand that. And it's no big deal anyway. I didn't even feel it really."

Paul looks at me incredulously. "Well, it sure will leave a mark. You're going to have scars for the rest of your life, Cara. You do realize that, right?"

I roll my eyes. "Of course I do, Paul. But honestly, it could be worse. Look at Emily! At least all I have are scars on my arm and stomach. She has them all over her face! If she can manage, then I'm sure I'll find a way to."

Paul smiles half-heartedly. "I guess so."

I smile and kiss his lips. "I know so."

We spend the rest of the morning in bed, stuffing our faces with doughnuts. Paul eats nine of them and then chugs the coffee. I eat three and sip at the milk. Then we lie in the bed, Paul holding me to him.

I hear Paul chuckle. I look at him and he's smiling dreamily. "What?" I ask.

"I was just thinking…I wonder if we'll be doing this same thing ten years from now?"

I grin and shrug. "Probably," I admit.

"Actually, I doubt it," Paul says with finality. My smile falls, but before I can reply, Paul continues. "I would guess that the kids wouldn't let us stay peacefully in bed for this long."

I am reeling when he says this. I am honestly amazed that he'll talk about the future like this. Most guys balk at the idea of talking about kids. But instead of being freaked out, I'm surprised to find myself beaming giddily at the idea of me and Paul having kids. I bury my head in Paul's shoulder and kiss his neck. "I'm sure," I say in between kisses, "that we could hire a nanny or something."

While I kiss him, I take in his scent. I've missed that smell so much. I feel him stiffen from under me as I slowly climb on top of him. "Cara…" he warns softly. I ignore him and continue my soft kisses on his neck. When I bite gently at his neck, he lets out a growl and flips me so that he is on top. He captures my lips with his tenderly, and it doesn't take long for it to deepen.

I sigh into Paul's mouth and run my hands in his hair, pulling him closer to me. I bit his lip softly and he moans loudly. His hand moves to rest on my stomach, and I let out a hiss of pain.

Within seconds Paul is across the room, his eyes wide. "I'm sorry!" he cries out. "I completely forgot. That was stupid of me…"

I sigh. "Paul, it didn't hurt that much." Then I realize what I have to do. "It's time for us to move on from this." I reach down to the bottom of my long-sleeved shirt from yesterday and pull it off. I'm not wearing any of the fancy bras Leah got me, just a plain white one. But it doesn't seem to matter to Paul. As I stand there before him in my bra and sweatpants, he eyes me hungrily. Then he sees all of the scratches on my stomach and arms, and he looks away. "I don't want to see," he whispers his eyes closed.

His words hit me like a slap in the face. I knew he was upset about hurting me. But it never occurred to me that he would find my scars unattractive. I feel myself blushing wildly. "Oh," I mumble quickly, reaching blindly for my long-sleeved shirt. "I didn't realize that…I'm sorry." I grab the shirt.

Before I can pull it on, Paul grabs my wrists gently with one hand, and pulls the shirt away with the other. "I hope you're not thinking that I'm telling you I don't want to see it because-,"

"No, it's my fault," I interrupt. "I mean, I never really realized. They are pretty revolting," I say, looking down at them.

"You think that I think they're ugly." Paul is looking at me, and I can actually see a little bit of anger in his eyes.

I shrug and look away from him, choosing not to answer. It is silent for a moment, and then Paul speaks. "Go lie down," he orders brusquely.

I look at him with confusion, but he has no emotion on his face to give away what he's thinking. "What…?"

"Just go lie down," he says again. I do, and he leaves the room, shutting the door. I lay there, feeling embarrassed and confused. What is he planning? Then a doubt sinks into me. _He is coming back, isn't he?_

Before I can even let that fear fully enter me, he is back, holding a small white container. He opens it and sticks his hand in it. When he pulls it back out, his fingers are covered in a white cream. He climbs on the bed so that he is with a leg on each side of me. "You left without getting this from the doctor." He says conversationally. He grabs my arm and rubs the cream over the gashes on my arm. "He said to do this everyday to help sooth the cuts." He gets out more of the salve and then begins to rub it slowly on my stomach. I jump at how cold the salve feels. "And I'm not revolted by these wounds," he says casually. "I was revolted at myself, knowing I'm the one that did that to you. I think that if anything, you look even more beautiful." I shiver at the contact of his hand rubbing my stomach.

Then, to my shock, he bends over and kisses my stomach gently. I gasp as a fire lights within me. I try to grab his head and pull him towards my lips, but he grabs my wrists with one hand and pulls them over my head. "Be patient," he murmurs huskily. He moves back down and kisses over each gash on my stomach. I gasp and shiver every time he kisses me. I wriggle around, trying to free my hands. Paul stops his kissing and looks at me until I stop. "In such hurry…"

He holds my arms above me tightly and begins moving his kisses upwards: to my ribcage, in between my breasts, on my collarbone, up my neck, and finally, to my lips. He lets go of my hands, and my arms lock around his neck, pulling him closer. I press my body against his, loving the contrast of my curves and his muscle. "You are so beautiful," Paul whispers to me in between kisses. "Never doubt that…"

"Paul," I whisper desperately to him. "I need you. Right now. _Please_."

I hear him sigh, and, unsurprisingly, he pulls away and get off of me. "Not now, Cara," he says. "You know that I want to wait until I think we're both ready."

I sigh and shake my head, not bothering to argue with him. "Damn you and your stubbornness," I mutter, pulling my shirt back on.

He chuckles and kisses my cheek softly. "That's why you love me…"

I roll my eyes, knowing he is right. He pulls me closer to him and says, "You should probably get some more sleep."

I shake my head. "But I practically slept the whole day today!"

"Yes, but from what I heard, you didn't exactly sleep a lot when I was gone." His expression darkens to disapproval when he says this. "According to Seth, you were like a 'zombie.' Jake said it reminded him of Bella when her leech left her."

I look at him defensively. "Well, what were you expecting me to do? Celebrate? You left, remember?"

His eyes flash with pain. "Yeah, I did."

I pull him closer. "I'm sorry," I murmur. "I'm giving you a hard time. You know I'm not upset anymore about that. We're together now, and that's all that matters. I'll go to sleep, but only if you stay here with me."

"That's a given," Paul whispers, and soon, in his arms, I am asleep.

* * *

I am running. Through the woods. I don't know what I'm running to. Or am I running away? I don't know. All I know is that I have to keep running. Or else he will get me.

I run into a clearing, and I see a wolf in the middle of it. _My _wolf. Paul. I should feel relieved. I got away from what I was running away from. But for some reason, I still feel terrified.

Paul is still in his wolf-form, and he is crouched over something, not facing me. I walk towards him, curious about what he's doing. As I get closer to him, a terrible stench fills my nostrils. It smells like…like…

_Blood_.

The closer I get, the stronger the smell is, and soon I have to cover my nose to move any closer. "Paul?" I say.

With a terrifying growl, he turns to me, and I let out a bloodcurdling scream. My father is lying on the ground, where Paul was crouching. His eyes are open, but glassy and emotionless. His torso has been ripped apart, blood and gore surrounding him. He is dead. Paul's muzzle and paws are stained red. Now I remember who I was running from. _Paul_.

I stare at him in horror, too afraid to move. "Paul…" I whisper. "What have you done?"

He lets out another terrorizing growl. His teeth are stained red as well. The smell of death is overwhelming, and I close my eyes, gagging. When I open them, Paul is still crouched, but now he is human. His mouth and bare chest glisten red with my father's blood. He stands and walks to me, opening his arms. "Come here baby…"

I gasp and stumble backward. "Stay away from me Paul," I stammer.

"He was good," Paul says, gesturing to my father, "but I want more."

I scream and turn around, running. I hear a horrifying howl, and something slams into my back, knocking me onto the ground.

I turn around and Paul, as a wolf, is on top of me, growling ferociously. He brakes into a terrifying grin, licking his lips. I gag again as the stench of his breath travels to me. "Paul," I sob. "Please. Don't do this." Tears are running down my face as his growl turns more menacing. "Please don't hurt me," I whimper. His growling stops, and to my shock, he speaks. "I love you baby." Then he strikes.

* * *

I wake up screaming hysterically, tears falling. Someone is holding me tightly, and I thrash wildly against them. The person turns me around, and I see that it is Paul. "Cara, baby, it's okay. You're safe."

An irrational fear hits me and I try to pull away from him. "Get away from me!" I sob. Instantly Paul is across the room, his eyes full of worry and hurt. Right away the fear leaves me, and I look at Paul, ashamed of myself. "I'm sorry, Paul. I don't know why I said that."

He looks away from me. "I know why," he mumbles. "You were talking in your sleep."

My eyes widen in mortification. "Paul," I say soothingly, "it was just a dream, it doesn't matter."

"It sounded more like a nightmare to me."

I shake my head. "It doesn't matter," I repeat.

Paul runs a hand through his hair. "I'm going to go on a run. Just go back to sleep."

My eyes widen, and panic sets in. "Paul, please don't-,"

He walks over to me and kisses my forehead. "Just go back to sleep, honey. I'm coming back. I promise."

I nod my head uncertainly, and settle back into the covers. I fall asleep in a cold bed.


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay, not much happens in this chapter, but more will be coming! And the end of the story is near!!**

**Thanks for all of the reviews!**

The nightmares don't stop. And every time I wake up screaming, there is that brief second where I am terrified of Paul. I can tell it's hurting him. He doesn't talk as openly anymore. He never goes any further than a kiss on the cheek. After two weeks of the nightmares, he made me move back into the room in his house that I was supposed to be sleeping in. Every time he looks at me, I can see pain and shame in his eyes.

School has started at La Push High School. There aren't a lot of juniors so I have all of my classes with Paul, Jared, Kim, Embry, Quil, and Jake. There isn't too much of anything happening at the school. My only concern at this point is finding out why I'm having these nightmares. Which is why after school while Paul is out patrolling, I am at Emily's house.

I watch Emily silently while she chops up vegetables to put in a soup. She looks up at me and smiles. "So how are you liking school Cara?" she asks congenially.

I shrug. "It's alright I guess. How's everything going with you?"

She gives me a look. "Fine, I suppose." She continues to add ingredients to the soup. After a while she looks at me expectantly. "Honey is something bothering you? Is there something you came to talk about?"

I shake my head with a fake smile plastered to my face. "No, no! I just came to hang around…" I can tell she doesn't believe me, but she nods and the silence continues.

Finally I gather the courage to ask her. "Hey, Emily," I say casually, "after you got…hurt, did anything strange start happening to you?"

She looks at me with confusion. "What do you mean?"

I bite my lip uncertainly. "I mean…did you start having…dreams? About Sam…hurting people?"

Emily's eyes widen with concern. "Of course not! I know that Sam would never hurt anyone. Honey, are you having dreams like that?"

I close my eyes to stop tears from coming out. "Yes."

I hear Emily drop the spoon she was stirring with. Then two arms wrap around me in a motherly hug. "Honey, there's nothing to be afraid of. Paul would never hurt you."

I look at her in anguish. "I know that Emily! But I can't stop these nightmares! Paul won't even let me sleep in the same room as him anymore! I don't know what to do…"

She looks at me with sympathy. "How about I talk with Sam about it? Maybe there's something he can do."

I nod my head. "Thank you."

I head back to Paul's house. When I get there, the house is empty. I sigh and plop on the couch, turning on the T.V. After a few minutes of Family Guy, I feel myself relaxing. Paul and I can work this out. We're soul mates after all. I'm not going to let some stupid dreams come in between us.

Suddenly I hear a noise from outside. I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck rising. Panic surges in me as something inside of me tells me to run. I rush into the kitchen and pull out a knife from the drawer.

The door opens and I scream, stumbling back. Instantly the terror leaves and guilt rushes into me as I see Paul's hurt expression. "Paul," I say quickly. "I didn't realize it was you…"

He shrugs, and I can tell he doesn't believe me. "Yeah, sorry."

I walk up to him and wrap my arms around him, hugging him as tightly as I can. At first he doesn't respond, but then I feel his will break as he exhales loudly. He pulls me to him as tightly as possible, crushing me.

"Whatever's going on," I say softly, "we can fix. We can work this out. We just have to stick together, okay?"

He nods and kisses my forehead gently. "You're right," he says, his lips still pressed to my head. But then he pulls away, and I can see blood stained on his chin. I gasp and back away. Instantly the hurt is back, and he shakes his head. "How can we fix this Cara?! How can we fix anything if every time you look at me you get scared?!" He rushes out of the house, slamming the door. I shake my head, sinking to the floor as the tears stream out. _I don't know_.

* * *

I sigh as I close _Paradise Lost_. No matter how many times I've read it, I always finish it awed at how amazing it is. I look around my house. I can't hear anyone except him in our room. Closing my eyes, I confirm this. We are home alone.

As soon as this thought enters my mind, he comes in, smiling softly at me. "How many times have you read that book?"

I beam at him. "At least a thousand…but it never gets old." I know that even if he teases me for reading that book, he does the same with his favorite books. He probably reads more than anyone in the house.

He walks over to me and kisses my lips softly. "So…now that we're home alone, what do you want to do?"

I shrug. "I don't know…first I have to check up on everyone."

He smiles. "Of course."

**(AN: That second part to the chapter was in a mystery POV. See if you can figure out who it is!)**

**Please review!!**


	20. Chapter 20

The end is so close

The end is so close! And this first section of the chapter is still in the mystery POV…and it is drum roll……………….Alice Cullen!

Thanks for the reviews!

I close my eyes, and within seconds I feel myself detaching from my body and drifting. I see Bella, wincing as she puts lotion on her sunburned skin. Her mother is in the background, smiling at her daughter. They fade away, and then I see Edward, Esme, and Carlisle, in the woods following the scent of a mountain lion. That fades, and then I see Rosalie and Emmett, off on another honeymoon in Ireland. Last on my list of people to check is Lucian. I close my eyes, and I see him in Ontario hunting. I sigh and open my eyes. "We're good," I say to Jasper.

Suddenly, a new vision overtakes me. I see that girl, Cara, with her mate, Paul. They are both walking down the beach and smiling. I open my eyes, gasping as I realize what has happened. Every vision, every time I assured the alpha that she was safe…

I look at Jasper in horror. "No…"

I wake up in my bed in Paul's house. I sigh. I must have fallen asleep yesterday after Paul left. I get a pair of jeans and a green turtleneck and carry them into the bathroom. I shower quickly, get dressed, and put on some makeup. When I step out of the bathroom, I see Paul lying on the couch, fast asleep. I frown and walk over to him, softly placing a kiss on his forehead. His eyes open slowly and he smiles groggily, and for a moment I can feel myself pretending that things are back to how they were before he hurt me.

"Hey baby," I say softly.

He looks at me and I see his eyes darken. "Cara. I-,"

"Shh," I whisper. "I know."

I lean in and press my lips against his. I hear him exhale loudly as he pulls me on top of him. The kiss deepens as he slides his tongue inside of my mouth, teasing mine gently. I press myself to him, molding us together. I rake my nails down his chest and he groans loudly, pulling me even closer. I feel my breath hitch as his hands find my breasts and begin massaging them gently. Before I even realize it, my shirt is off.

"Paul," I gasp, pulling away from his mouth. "Kim…Jared…"

"They're gone," he says roughly and then latches his mouth to mine again. His hand finds the clasp on my bra and within seconds my bra is off. I blush and pull away, covering my breasts with my hands. Paul shakes his head, pulling my hands away. "I want to see them," he murmurs. He sits up and readjusts me so that I am the one lying down and he is on top of me. He kisses and bites down my neck, and I writhe, feeling a fire light in me.

Suddenly his mouth latches onto a breast. I gasp as he sucks gently, my eyelids fluttering. He bites down and I let out a loud groan. He pulls away, smiling at me with satisfaction. "You like that?"

My breathing is so heavy I can't answer. So I just nod wildly. His smile widens. He lowers his head back down.

Without warning someone bursts through the door. I let out a shriek and cover my breasts with my hands. Instantly Paul is off the couch and pulling me behind him, blocking any view I had of the person who barged in on us. But I can tell by Paul's trembling form that it is someone who is not welcome here.

"_What the fuck are you doing here?!_" Paul roars. I peek around his shaking body and see none other than Alice Cullen. "You're violating the treaty!"

I watch the petite vampire sigh and roll her eyes. "Control yourself, _pup_, unless you're wanting to hurt your mate again."

Paul turns around and looks at me with fear, his trembling stopping. Instantly his expression hardens. "Cara, go in my room and wait for me there."

I shake my head, remembering what happened at the grocery store. "Paul, I don't think she's here to-,"

"Cara!" Paul says in desperation. "Please, just go."

I look at the worry and pain in his eyes, and solemnly I nod. I grab my shirt and pull it on while I rush into Paul's room. As soon as I shut the door, I press my ear to it, straining to hear what's going on.

"You've really crossed the line this time," Paul says darkly. "And you don't have any leech friends to help you…" he trails off into a growl.

To my surprise, Alice replies. "Please, I'm not here to fight you. I came to warn you!" The growls only get louder. "It's about Lucian!"

Immediately the growls stop. "What?"

"He's tricked me. He tricked all us! He's still here."

I gasp, and I hear Paul do the same. "Are you sure? How do you know?"

"I had a vision of you and Cara. I can't have visions of werewolves. He must not have known."

"I don't understand…" Paul trails off.

"Don't you _see_? He's been putting visions in my head since the moment he supposedly left Forks!"

I gasp and back away from the door. And then I back into a body.

I turn and see Lucien's devilish smile. "Hello darling."

**I would love more reviews!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Okay, all i can really say is SORRY! it's been forever!! There has been some serious home issues and i haven't been able to update. But here you go and i hope you enjoy it )**

**sorry again! and thank you for your support!**

I look at Lucian in horror. I start to back away but my eyes catch his, and I feel myself sinking under his influence. I cannot move any closer to the door. I feel terror overcoming every sense in my body. "They'll know you're here," I say to him, my voice shaky.

Lucian chuckles. "See, that's the beauty of little Alice coming to warn your mate in person. Her scent, along with the fact that they are so close to each other in an enclosed space, overpowers my own scent. And the scent of werewolf paired with my influence on Alice's mind will prevent her from detecting me as well."

I feel faint with fear. I know he's right. I can hear Alice and Paul arguing about boundary lines, their voices raised. They won't know for awhile that he's here. Before it's too late, a voice said in my head. I look for a way to alert them…then I decide screaming is the only way. But by the time my mouth opens, Lucian is behind me, his hand clamped over my mouth. "Shh, shh…" he whispers softly into my ear. "Let's not cause a scene pet."

Suddenly the feeling that I am going to die hits me. Tears form in my eyes and begin running down my face. I hear Lucian sigh impatiently. "Well if you insist on causing one…." Air rushes around me as I'm jerked out of my window and within seconds we are in the middle of the woods. Lucian drops me on the ground roughly. I stand up, wiping my tears, and glare at him. "What do you want from me?" I ask, trying to sound brave. Really I just wanted to run.

Lucian smiles cruelly. "That night in the woods, I saw you and decided I wanted you. You smell so delectable…like cherry blossoms." He shuts his eyes and licks his lips. I shudder, trying to suppress my rising terror. He opens his eyes and chuckles. "Now when the wolves first came and saved you, I almost thought about just ripping you apart, just to spite those pitiful dogs. Then the Cullens informed me of your tie with one of the pups. Imprinting, how….barbaric. But then an idea hit me!" He smiles, looking like a child at Christmastime.

I swallow deeply, my throat dry. "W-what idea?"

His smile grows. "Just think: how poetic would it be, if the mutt's imprint turned into that which he hunts with such passion?"

I gasp, and every bone in my body prays that he doesn't mean what I think he means. But then he crushes all hope I have: "You will make a lovely vampire darling."

Once again tears stream down my face and I back away in horror. "No…you can't do that." I close my eyes and shake my head in denial.

He sneers cruelly. "On the contrary, I can do it, and I will."

I feel sobs rising in my chest. "But…I don't want to be a vampire…"

"Why not? Think about it: immortality, beauty, strength, speed, power…what's not to like?"

I look at him, disgust momentarily overpowering my fear. "You kill innocent people."

He shrugs. "Think how overpopulated the world would be without us to control it."

I shake my head at him. "No. You're wrong. You're a monster."

He laughs angrily. "I'm a monster? What about your mate? He turns into a mutt…and then he attacked you! And what about those dreams?"

I look up at him with surprise. "How do you know about those?"

His eyes widen as he realizes that he said too much. Then I understand. "You put that in my head, didn't you? You're the one that kept making me see him as a monster! You knew that you were going to lose, so you tried to pull us apart with dreams! Well you know what? It didn't work. There is nothing you can do that will change my love for Paul, or his for me."

Lucian lets out a growl and lunges at me. I try to back away, but he grabs my arm and yanks me close to him. I hear the bone crunching before I feel it. But then the pain comes and I let out a shriek of pain. Lucien drops my arm and pulls me close to him by my hair. His lips, cold and dry, touch my ear. "You think he loves you that much? Let's see how much he loves you when you're drinking the blood of his people." He kisses my ear roughly and then slaps me. I fly into the trunk of a tree, hissing in pain. I feel blood dripping from my nose.

Instantly Lucian's eyes darken until they are coal black. He kneels down and inhales deeply. "Mmm…delicious…" Then to my disgust, he bends to my nose and licks the blood that had escaped my nostrils. I cringe in horror.

Lucian's eyes snap open. "I can taste the fear in you….so wonderful. I was hoping to change you right as your mate came, but if I wait any longer I'm going to end up draining you."

He bends back over and kisses my neck softly. I tremble, knowing that Paul was not going to save me. But then I heard it. A howl, off in the distance. Lucian looks up angrily. "Hmm, we'll have to hurry." He grins wickedly at me. "Ready?" He presses his lips to my throat again.

I close my eyes, closing off any influence Lucian could put on me. Then I open my mouth and scream as loud as possible. Soon I can hear my screams echoing throughout the woods, all calling one name:

"Paul!!"


	22. Chapter 22

**It's been awhile, hasn't it? I am really sorry for that. My dad was deployed and it seems like I really don't have a lot of time to do anything regarding fanfiction anymore. I can't promise that my updates will become any more frequent, but I thank all of you for your reviews and support.**

I feel Lucian's mouth enclose on my neck and I know it too late. My scream dies down and I shut my eyes tighter in submissive terror. Suddenly, a growl roars out from behind Lucian. He stands slowly and turns around, pulling me up with him. "Ah…you came much sooner than I was planning," he purrs. "The attachment you pups feel for your mates is much stronger than I realized."

Paul's only answer was to growl louder. The hairs on his back stand and he crouches down low, ready to pounce. This is the Paul that is feared. Yet, I'm not scared. All I can feel is a helpless joy at getting to see him.

"No, no, no. Not so fast," Lucian says with a smirk. "You attack me," he yanks me in front of him, "then you'll be attacking her as well."

Paul backs up uncertainly, and fear seeps back into me. All of the sudden the fur on Paul is beginning to retract, and Paul is shifting back into a man.

In all honesty, I have imagined Paul naked before. But not like this. Even in my own terror I can't help but admire his perfectly sculpted body. But his face in contorted in anguish. "Lucian, please…just let her go."

Lucian sneers. "And why would I do that? You mate is going to make such a lovely vampire."

Paul trembles in fury. "Coward," he spits out.

Lucian's grip on me tightens painfully. He snarls. "You will regret saying that. I'll change her, and then watch her tear you to shreds."

"It's true! You sit there safely hiding behind a helpless _human_. You want a challenge Lucian? Well here it is. Fight _me_."

His smirk is back. "Fight you? Hmm…that would be simple. I'm older than you could even imagine, boy. Five hundred years a vampire. You think taking on a mutt would be challenging?"

Paul shrugs. "Only one way to find out. I'm one of the strongest in the pack. If you killed me, it'd be a blow to the pack. Take me in her place." He gestures to me. "I can _guarantee_… you won't be disappointed."

I struggle wildly as soon as he says this. "Paul, no!" I shriek. "Please, don't!" _You'll be the death_ _of him_, I tell myself miserably, and I hate myself for it.

Lucian chuckles at this and lets his grip on me loosen. "Very well." He closes his eyes for a brief moment. "Your pack won't find us here. I've made sure of that. They think they've already searched these woods." He lets go of me and holds out his hand. "You, for your mate. Do we have a deal?"

Paul walks forward solemnly and shakes his hand. Instantly Lucian flings him away. Paul is airborn for a moment before he slams into a tree and falls to the ground. He is up and shifting before I can react. The grey wolf growls menacingly at Lucian, who snarls in return. I see Paul staring at Lucian with his fathomless black eyes, and in those eyes, I can see the ferocious desire to kill. I shudder.

I find myself unable to move as Lucian and Paul clash with a thundering bang. All I can see are blurs; they're moving too fast for me to see who's winning.

Suddenly, I sickening screech pierces the air. I scream and cover my ears, trying to block it out. With a hiss, Lucian jumps away from Paul. His left arm is gone. He smiles and closes his eyes. Paul suddenly staggers and falls. He whimpers as he walks towards Lucian slowly, then stumbles away. He looks dizzy…

_Lucian is in his head_, I think with horror. Lucian lets out a growl and leaps rapidly on Paul's back, sinking his teeth into Paul's shoulder. Paul lets out a roar of pain and slams onto his back, trying to get Lucian off.

"Paul!" I cry in fear. I feel my eyelids flutter and I woozily take a step back. _You have to stay awake_, I ordered myself. I wouldn't be weak while Paul fought for me.

Paul hears my cry and glances at me, and I see determination in his dark eyes. He pounces on Lucian with a snarl. There is a blur of them fighting, and then a symphony of screeches that has me covering my ears again.

And then it gets quiet. Paul's snarls die as he stills, breathing heavily. What looked to me like pieces of marble lie where Lucian once stood. I sigh in relief. It's over. All of the nightmares, the hallucinations…they're finally gone. I wonder how I ever could have been afraid of my love. "Paul…" I whisper softly.

He looks at me, and everything he wants to say is in his deep eyes. He takes a step toward me, and staggers to the ground. I gasp and run over to him. He whimpers softly.

"What is it, Paul?" I ask faintly, feeling panic rise in me yet again.

Paul doesn't answer. Instead, he morphs back into a human. He is shivering wildly. There is a large tear in his shoulder from Lucian.

"Lucian…his venom…" he trailed off, shuddering violently.

My hands tremble as I touch his arm. "Just stay here, Paul," I say softly. "I'll go get help."

"No," he interrupts quickly. "Cara, listen to me. We have to…" tremors rock his body, "…burn the pieces. I have matches in the woods over there." He gestures towards a spot in the woods. "Got get them. I'll…gather the pieces."

I nod fearfully and jog into the woods. It takes me awhile to find the small package of matches lying by a tree on the forest floor. I grab them and run back to the clearing. Paul had already constructed a pile of Lucian, mixed with a few branches and twigs. He is limping slowly towards the pile with the last pieces.

Suddenly, he drops to the ground, moaning in pain. All thoughts leave me as I run to him, panic enveloping all of my senses. "Paul," I say, hysteria piercing through my voice. "Forget the fire. We have to get you help. You'll…" I couldn't finish that trail of thought. _Die_.

He shakes his head. "Get the pieces I dropped and put them in the pile. Get some leaves from the piles and light them on fire _first_. Then once they're burning, put them on the pile. The pack will…smell the smoke and come."

I nod, afraid to speak. I could feel sobs hitching in my throat out of fear. I shakily grab the pieces and drop them on the pile. It takes a few minutes for me to set the leaves on fire; I fumble with the matches, shaking hard. Finally, a sickly-sweet smoke begins to rise from the pile.

I return to Paul and pet his hair softly. I gasp when my hand touches Paul's forehead. He was…normal. The same temperature of my body!

He hears me gasp and sighs. "I'm sorry…for all of this Cara. I should have come sooner. I shouldn't have left you alone."

I shake my head, tears spilling out of my eyes. "No, Paul. It's fine. Listen to me, okay? The pack will be here soon, and they'll take you to Dr. Cullen. He'll know how to fix you…"

Paul laughed weakly, and then coughed. "Oh Cara…I'll always love you, babe. Dr. Cullen can't fix me. Not this time."

I can feel my voice rise in hysteria. "What do you mean? Of course he can!"

"Cara…he can't. It's too late…the venom….it's killing me. He's not gonna be able to fix that."

I shake my head, terror rising in me. "No, Paul…" I let out a strangled sob. "You can't! You promised that you would never leave again! Well, that's what you'll do, if you just give up like this!"

Paul opens his mouth to reply, but a hiss of pain escapes his mouth. He whimpers weakly, and I feel bile rising in my throat. Paul weakly takes my hand. "You'll…you'll be strong for me, won't you?"

At that moment, I know he will leave me. And that I am making his final- hours? minutes?- worse than they have to be. I wipe my tears, trying not to shake. "Yes," I whisper. "I'll be strong for you."

I hold his hand and pet his hair gently, and I watch him- my love- get colder, and colder, and his breathing get fainter, and fainter, until his eyes close and his breathing stops. And it is at that moment that I let out the agonizing screams of pain that I have held in for what seems like so long. Paul is dead.


	23. Chapter 23

**I'm going to make Paul's POV a new story. Inspiration hit me and I had to continue in Cara's POV. Please Review this, it was very emotional for me.**

It can't be right. He can't really be dead. I look at his face: eyes closed, face the most peaceful it has looked in weeks. I call for help until my voice is hoarse. And they hear me.

Carlisle arrives first but is quickly tailed by Alice, Edward, and all of the wolves. He takes a look at my tear-streaked face, and the way my body is thrown over Paul's, and his face seems to grow even paler.

"Carlisle," I whisper, unable to trust my voice enough to get any louder, "please tell me he's not gone. _Please._"

Carlisle is by our bodies in a flash, moving me gently off of Paul. "His heartbeat is there. Faint, but there."

Suddenly Sam is by our side, quickly pulling shorts on himself. "What happened?" I see fear in his eyes, like he is losing a son. I guess in a way, he is. I shut my eyes painfully. "He got bitten by Lucian. He was fighting him…but he only got bitten once! He has to be okay Sam. He's gonna be okay." I realize I'm rocking back and forth, but I can't even bring myself to care enough to stop.

Sam's eyes fill with tears as he looks at the bite wound on Paul's shoulder. The arc from Lucian's teeth has turned into a sickening foaming blue-silver, mixing with Paul's blood like a poison. What scares me more than anything I've seen yet, through, is seeing Sam scared to tears. He turns abruptly without answering me and strides to the other wolves, who are crouched together like they're in pain.

Carlisle sighs. "Our venom is toxic to werewolves, Cara. It's not like biting a human, where it changes you into a vampire. It…I don't know if there's anything we can do."

My nails dig into my face as I bury in into my hands. I gasp in pain and let out a cry like an animal. I look up at Carlisle, now joined by Edward and Alice. "Please, Carlisle. Please do _something_!"

Edward touches Carlisle's shoulder. "What about what I did to Bella? With James? Maybe…maybe one of us could suck out the venom. Maybe it's not too late."

Carlisle pauses for a fraction of a second. "We need to take him to the house. It's going to be more complex of a procedure than it was with Bella. Alice, go explain to Sam what's going on while Edward and I carry Paul." And before I can even blink, Edward and Carlisle are gone with Paul in their arms.

I look and see Alice's hand on Sam's shoulder, speaking gently. Sam's face is in his hands, but he nods. He looks at me, trying to erase the pain from his face. "Cara," he says, his voice hoarse, "come on. We need to get to the house. I'm going to phase, and you need to hop onto my back and hold on. Please don't fall…we don't have time."

He changes before I answer and I run to him, swiftly hoping onto his back. The forest rushes by in a blur as we race through the woods, the rest of the pack following. Only now do I feel the dull pain in my arm. It feels like years ago when Lucian was breaking it. I bury my face in Sam's dark fur, praying to whoever would listen. _Please don't let him die. Please let him be okay._

We arrive at the house within minutes, and I hop off Sam before he even stopped, breaking into a run for the house. I open the front door, running past Esme and Rosalie and Emmet and Alice and Jasper, feeling pulled to a door, down stairs, to Paul lying on a medical table. The Cullen's basement, a large room with a window overlooking a field behind their house, had been transformed into a little hospital room, with heart monitors and IV bags attached to Paul. He has paled even more since I last saw him into the woods. I shakily grab his hand, shuddering at its coldness. Sam and Jared were right behind me, stomping down the stairs and stopping in front of Paul's bed. Carlisle and Edward look at me, then Sam.

"Sam, we need to take as much blood as we can so we can give it to Paul through a transfusion. I know that no other blood will work from studying Jacob's blood after the newborn war. You all have the same unique blood type. We're pumping so much blood out of his system now," I just now notice a tube attached to Paul, with red fluid flowing out of it and into large blood bags, "we need to get more in him as soon as possible. Even then, I'm not sure…" he trails off, looking at me. "The venom is very persistent."

Sam is already holding out his arm, with Jared right behind him. I jump as Edward touches my arm. "Cara, it's going to be very busy down here, with a lot of people doing work on Paul. Maybe it would be better if you..."

I tuned him out, feeling myself turning off. I feel my body detaching itself from my mind and feelings, part of some sort of self preservation system. I can only imagine what would happen if I really took in this entire scene. I let Edward lead me upstairs into the room with the other Cullens and the pack, sitting anxiously by each other. I sit for hours. Or maybe only minutes; I don't really know how the time is passing before Carlisle is upstairs, crouched beside me.

"We've done everything we can, Cara. Now all we can do is wait, and hope. His body is fighting a very important battle, his blood trying to destroy Lucian's venom. Sam and Jared's blood makes him stronger, but it's still taking a toll on him. You can go down there now, if you'd like."

I look at him and nod. I walk to the stairs slowly, passing the sympathetic faces of the Cullens and the pained faces of the Quileute boys. I walk descend to the basement, and only when I reach Paul's still-pale face do I begin crying. My body shakes and I rip out pieces of my hair, whispering Paul's name over and over again. I settle into a chair placed next to the bed and grip Paul's hand, trembling. I look at Paul's face. It no longer looked peaceful, but troubled. _Sam and Jared's blood makes him stronger, but it's still taking a toll on him. _I tighten my grip on his hand. "You promised me, Paul," I whisper. "You promised you'd be here with me. I've only known you for less than half a year. I'm not ready to lose you yet." I lower my head onto the bed, sobbing. "I love you."

I stay there like that until my eyes stay closed, and I sleep.

~*~

"Cara."

My eyes flutter open groggily, and I sit up in the chair. I turn to the side, and Paul is standing there, smiling softly at me. His body glows in the moonlight that is the only light in the room. I smile. "I thought I was going to lose you."

His smile fades, looking sad, yet still beautiful. His eyes drift next to something next to me. I look, and I see that I'm still holding Paul's hand as he lies on the bed. I gasp and drop his hand, standing up. My hand flies to my mouth as I shake my head, tears falling. "No, no."

Paul walks slowly towards me. I see now a glow that is stronger than the moonlight could give him. The bite mark on his shoulder is gone. "We're so much luckier than a lot of people in the world, you know that? We experienced something that most people dream of. That true, unconditional love that you can't read about, or see in a movie. The real thing that can't be captured or recreated, just experienced. Try to remember that, Cara."

I shake my head more. "Paul, please. I'm not ready to lose you. We didn't get any time…"

He smiles sadly. "You have to promise me something. Keep going, even after I'm gone. Don't let me hold you back from being the amazing person I know you are. It's corny to say this, but I'll always be," I gasp as his warm hand is placed over my heart, "right here."

I cover his hand with mine, closing my eyes. "I love you."

He brushes hair out of my face. "I love you, Cara. More than anything. And I always will."

I open my eyes. "It doesn't have to be this way, Paul. You can keep trying! Please." Tears blur my vision and I hastily wipe them away, not letting them ruin my vision as I stare at Paul.

He gets a faraway look in his eyes. "You know, I think we'll be together again soon. I think that soon we won't have to worry about being apart anymore."

I nod. "I'm going to miss you," I whisper.

He smiles. "Well, try not to too much. I'll be keeping an eye on you, okay?" He looks over his shoulder, and turns back to me. "It's time for me to go now, I think." I shake my head, my breath hitching. "Oh, and Cara? Be brave. You are a really good singer, even if it hurts to be reminded of your mom." He takes my hand in his, and squeezes it, pulling me into him. I melt into the embrace, taking in his smell. He tilts my head up, and kisses the tears off my face. His lips lower to mine, and I take in his smell. He pulls away softly, backing away.

"I love you, Paul." I close my eyes again.

~*~

"Cara."

I open my eyes and see Carlisle looking at me sadly. The Cullens and Quiluetes, my family, are crowded around me, tears in the pack's eyes. "I'm sorry, Cara."

I look next to me slowly, and see myself wrapped in Paul's arms in the hospital bed. His face is peaceful again, eyes closed, and a faint smile on his lips. I get up slowly, squeezing his hand one more time. "I'll try to be brave," I whisper.


End file.
